THE 


AMERICAN 


QUESTION 


BY 


Rear-Admiral   DANIEL    AMMEN, 
U.  S.  NAVY. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

L.    R.    HAMERSLY   &   CO., 
1510  CHESTNUT  STREET. 

1880. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1879, 

BY  L.  R.  HAMERSLY  &  CO.,  ' 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

THE  SUFFICIENCY  OF  OUR  INFORMATION  IN  RELATION  TO  THE 

TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ISTHMUSES. 
THE   FEASIBILITY   OF    AN   INTER-OCEANIC    SHIP    CANAL    VIA 

LAKE  NICARAGUA  AS  A  COMMERCIAL  QUESTION. 
THE  PRESENT  ASPECTS  OF  THE  INTER-OCEANIC  SHIP  CANAL 

QUESTION. 
APPENDIX  : 
PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  GENERAL  SESSION  OF  THE  CONGRESS  IN 

PARIS,  MAY  23,  AND  IN  THE  TECHNICAL  COMMISSION,  MAY 

26,  1879. 
REPORTS  OF  REAR-ADMIRAL  DANIEL  AMMEN,  U.  S.  NAVY,  TO 

THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  JUNE  21,  1879. 
REPORT  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEER  A.  G.  MENOCAL,  U.  S.  N.,  TO  THE 

SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  JUNE  21,  1879. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Circumstances  which  occurred  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago, 
briefly  mentioned  in  the  following  paper  read  before  the  American 
Geographical  Society  of  New  York,  fixed  my  attention  on  the  question 
of  the  possibility  of  the  construction  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal 
across  this  continent. 

Owing  to  the  approaching  struggle  into  which  we  soon  passed,  and 
the  perturbation  which  preceded  and  followed  it,  no  possibility  of 
making  further  explorations  occurred  for  years. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  winter  of  1866  I  was  in  Washington,  in 
command  of  a  vessel  of  war.  At  my  request,  Eear- Admiral  Chas. 
H.  Davis,  Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  prepared  a  map 
on  a  large  scale  of  the  narrow  part  of  this  continent  for  General 
Grant,  with  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  discussing  what  was  then 
known  and  what  was  still  in  doubt  respecting  the  topography  of  that 
region.  This  led  to  one  or  more  visits  to  Mr.  Seward,  then  Secretary 
of  State,  whose  reception  of  the  subject  of  making  further  explorations 
at  that  time  made  General  Grant  averse  to  seeing  him  further  in 
relation  to  this  matter. 

Mr.  Conness,  then  Senator  from  California,  offered  a  Resolution 
calling  for  information  from  the  Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observ- 
atory, which  was  given  during  that  year,  1866.  He  continued  his 
interest  in  this  subject,  and  finally  obtained  an  appropriation  for 
making  inter-oceanic  surveys  in  the  winter  of  1869.  In  the  mean  time 
General  Grant  had  been  elected  President,  and  did  not  fail  to  do  all  in 
his  power,  through  his  subordinates,  in  forwarding  surveys,  which, 
when  terminated,  left  no  part  of  the  topography  of  the  Isthmus  in 
doubt,  so  far,  at  least,  as  their  possibility  for  the  construction  of  a 
ship  canal  was  concerned. 

Under  a  Resolution  of  Congress,  as  President,  he  appointed  a  Com- 
mission on  March  13th,  1872,  consisting  of  the  Chief  of  Bureau  of 
Engineers,  U.  S.  A.,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey,  and  the 
Chief  of  Bureau  of  Navigation,  U.  S.  N.,  to  examine  into,  make 
suggestions,  and  report  upon  the  subject. 


6  INTR  OD  UCTOR  Y. 

This  Commission  foimd  further  information  indispensable;  it  in- 
formed the  President  that  a  close  instrumental  examination  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  in  the  immediate  region  of  the  Panama  railroad 
was  necessary  to  a  full  consideration  of  the  subject.  The  President 
directed  an  immediate  execution  of  this  work,  which  was  completed 
with  the  least  possible  delay.  The  Commission  then  decided,  and 
reported  to  the  President  on  the  7th  of  February,  1876,  in  the  follow- 
ing terms : — 

"That  the  route  known  as  the  ' Nicaragua  route'  possesses,  both 
for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  canal,  greater  advantages, 
and  offers  fewer  difficulties  from  engineering,  commercial,  and  eco- 
nomic points  of  view,  than  any  one  of  the  other  routes  shown  to  be 
practicable  by  surveys  sufficiently  in  detail  to  enable  a  judgment  to  be 
formed  of  their  relative  merits  as  will  be  briefly  presented  in  the 
appended  memorandum." 

Owing  to  reasons  not  fully  known  to  me,  and  difficulties  which  I 
will  not  surmise,  no  actual  progress  was  made  in  bringing  about  or 
furthering  the  construction  of  the  work  previous  to  the  expiration  of 
the  Presidential  term  in  March,  1877,  when  General  Grant  went  out 
of  office. 

To  my  personal  knowledge,  General  Grant  did  not  at  that  time,  nor 
until  recently,  have  any  disposition  to  participate  in  the  work  of  con- 
struction of  a  ship  canal.  When  great  difficulties  arose,  in  proposi- 
tions for  making  a  canal  at  the  ocean-level  at  Panama,  apparently 
without  regard  to  any  commercial  consideration  of  the  question,  or  of 
the  permanency  of  the  work,  he  probably  regarded  it  of  such  great 
importance  to  our  future  commerce,  and  that  of  the  world  generally, 
as  to  express  a  willingness  to  aid  actively  in  its  construction  on  a 
route  which  presents  relatively  economical  conditions  for  construc- 
tion, and  permanency,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  in  such  works. 

Whether  this  canal  will  or  will  not  be  made  depends  upon 
the  appreciation  of  its  merits ;  not  upon  what  is  possible,  but  what  is 
certain  of  realization  with  a  given  amount  of  expenditure.  To  make 
its  construction  an  assured  fact,  its  appreciation  must  be  by  the 
moneyed  interests  of  the  world,  and  notably  by  those  of  the  United 
States  and  of  Great  Britain,  whose  interests  in  the  construction  of  such 
a  work  are  so  largely  preponderant  to  those  of  other  peoples  and 
nations. 

From  page  608  of  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society  of  London"  for  September,  in  noting  the  proceedings  of  the 
Geographical  Society  of  Paris,  I  quote  the  following: — 


INTRODUCTORY.  7 

"  M.  de  Lesseps  announces  that  the  subscriptions  for  800,000  shares, 
at  500  francs  each,  of  the  Panama  Inter-Oceanic  Canal  Company, 
would  be  opened  on  the  6th  of  August.  He  expressed  himself 
astonished,  and  even  disappointed,  that  the  project  was  advancing 
so  smoothly.  A  little  serious  opposition  would  have  been  agree- 
able to  him." 

Whilst  not  sharing  his  sentiments  as  to  the  agreeability  of  conten- 
tions, I  should  say  that  if  an  opposition  to  him,  or  rather  his  project, 
from  a  preference  of  another  route  for  a  ship  canal,  is  agreeable  to 
him,  so  much  the  better.  We  may  well  wish  him  all  the  success  that 
the  merit  of  his  project  possesses  on  physical  conditions  only,  and  may 
regret  any  injury  to  it  from  "diplomatic  or  political  intervention," 
should  it  be  supposed  desirable  or  possible. 


SURVEYS  AND  RECONNOISSANCES  FROM  1870  TO 
1875  FOR  A  SHIP  CANAL  ACROSS  THE  AMERICAN 
ISTHMUS. 

BY    COMMODORE    DANIEL    AMMEN. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  October  21,  1876. 

HON.  CHAS.  P.  DALY,  President  Am.  Geographical  Society,  N.  Y. 

DEAR  SIR: — In  reply  to  the  request  of  the  Society  for  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  the  recent  surveys  which  have  been  executed  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  for  a  Transcontinental  Ship  Canal 
across  the  American  Isthmus,  I  very  cheerfully  send  you  the  enclosed 
communication,  placing  it  at  the  disposal  of  the  Society.  In  present- 
ing the  paper  relating  to  these  surveys,  a  brief  explanation  may, 
however,  be  expected  from  me  by  at  least  some  of  your  members. 

More  than  twenty  years  ago  I  was  attracted  to  the  consideration  of 
this  subject  by  the  then  published  accounts  of  the  coincident  attempts 
by  the  English,  the  French,  and  ourselves,  in  the  vicinity  of  Caledo- 
nia Bay,  to  discover  the  pretended  Cullen  route, — a  route  disproved 
by  those  three  parties,  but  which,  having  been  again  insisted  upon  as 
feasible,  was  recently  shown  by  the  American  Expedition  (1870)  to 
be  a  physical  impossibility,  by  reason  of  the  elevation  of  the  water- 
shed adjacent  to  and  across  the  "divide"  near  Caledonia  Bay,  the 
chief  streams  of  which  water-shed  flow  into  the  Pacific. 

At  the  date  referred  to,  the  English,  working  from  the  Savannah 
River,  ran  a  line  of  levels  towards  Caledonia  Bay  and  reached  the 
waters  of  the  Sucubti,  the  stream  north  and  west  of  the  Caledonia 
Bay  range  of  mountains,  at  a  height  sufficient  to  show  the  imprac- 
ticability of  the  route. 

The  French  seem  to  have  abandoned  their  work  without  producing 
instrumental  results  indicating  in  any  degree  a  hope  of  success. 

The  American  party,  under  Lieut.  Strain  of  the  Navy,  ascended 
the  mountain  range  from  the  bay,  reached  the  Sucubti  on  the  Pacific 
slope,  and  without  the  use  of  instruments  of  precision,  followed  the 
tortuous  stream  to  the  Chucunaque,  and  made  their  way  down  that 
still  more  tortuous  stream,  with  the  loss  of  more  than  half  of  their 
9 


10  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

number  by  starvation.  This  was  the  natural  result  of  not  providing 
proper  outfit,  and  carefully  husbanding  their  provisions.  No  positive 
knowledge  was  gained  by  our  expedition,  except  the  necessity  that 
future  explorers  should  be  judiciously  provisioned  and  equipped  with 
the  means  of  securing  the  best  instrumental  results. 

After  two  days'  descent  of  the  Sucubti,  Strain's  party,  when  en- 
camped upon  an  island,  had  supposed  they  had  heard  the  evening- 
gun  of  the  "Cyane,"  the  vessel  which  they  had  left  anchored  in  Cal- 
edonia Bay.  This  supposed  fact,  seemingly  without  significance  to 
them,  attracted  my  attention ;  for  if  it  were  a  fact,  it  would  appear  to 
indicate  the  existence  of  a  low  line  of  levels  between  that  point  and 
the  waters  of  Caledonia  Bay.  It  seemed  to  me  not  at  all  likely  that 
the  sound  was  deflected  up  a  mountain  side  and  again  descended 
through  the  valley  beyond. 

I  was  led  to  consider  more  fully  the  probability  of  a  low  line  of 
levels  near  the  point  referred  to,  and  further  to  study  the  question  of 
meeting  the  formidable  obstacles  besetting  explorers  in  this  almost 
impassable  region,  and  of  securing  sufficiently  positive,  conclusive 
knowledge  of  the  country,  to  establish,  in  relation  to  all  the  water- 
sheds, the  practicability  of  a  transcontinental  ship  canal — or  the 
reverse. 

Presenting  my  views,  in  1856,  to  Mr.  Toucey,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  but  failing  to  receive  his  countenance  and  support,  I  went  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean  on  board  of  one  of  our  vessels  of  war,  and  did  not 
return  until  1860,  when  I  wrote  out  briefly  my  project  for  exploring 
the  entire  region  necessary  to  be  examined,  in  a  paper  which  this 
Society  did  me  the  honor  to  read  on  the  7th  of  June  of  that  year. 
This  project  has,  in  fact,  formed  the  basis  of  our  surveys  and  explor- 
ations, modified  as  has  been  found  necessary  by  the  intelligent  and 
able  officers  who  have  actually  executed  the  work. 

At  the  time  when  the  paper  was  read  to  your  Society  the  political 
condition  of  our  country  was  disturbed,  and  the  years  of  civil  war 
which  followed  indefinitely  postponed  even  the  consideration  of  this 
most  important  subject.  On  my  return  from  the  Asiatic  station  in 
April,  1869,  I  was  gratified  at  finding  that  appropriations  had  been 
made  for  transcontinental  ship  canal  surveys,  and  that  General  Grant, 
then  President,  was  initiating  a  comprehensive  examination  and  suffi- 
cient surveys  of  the  extensive  region  involved.  Their  full  execution 
has  required  years  of  labor  and  the  employment  of  large,  well- 
equipped  parties,  as  will  hereafter  be  shown. 

For  the  past  five  years,  during  which  I  have  been  Chief  of  the 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  11 

Bureau  of  Navigation,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  has  honored  me  by 
directing  the  Bureau  to  give  special  attention  to  the  selection  of  most 
efficient  officers  for  this  work;  to  look  closely  to  the  proper  supply  of 
articles  of  subsistence,  and  for  the  best  instruments  found  by  experi- 
ence to  be  suitable;  to  formulate  orders  for  his  examination  and 
approval ;  to  examine  closely  the  results  of  surveys ;  and  to  supply 
whatever  deficiencies  might  be  found  to  exist  for  the  full  investiga- 
tion and  determination  of  this  question. 

Since  the  appointment  by  the  President  of  the  Commission  to 
investigate  and  report  upon  a  transcontinental  ship  canal  route,*  all 
orders  and  instructions  for  surveys  in  progress  have  been,  in  effect,  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  and  requirements  of  that  Commission; 
at  their  instance  a.  close  instrumental  survey  and  actual  location  of  a 
route  was  made  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  a  further  examina- 
tion of  the  Chepo-San  Bias  route  from  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  surveys  were  at  length  completed,  as  will  be  referred  to  in 
detail.  They  were  satisfactory  to  the  Commission,  and  I  can  assure 
you  that  their  execution  was  no  holiday  work.  In  every  case  where 
tentative  lines  only  were  prosecuted,  this  was  done  instrumentally  to 
a  point  developing  impracticability,  or  else  a  manifest  inferiority  for 
construction  as  compared  with  other  lines  found  more  favorable.  On 
the  latter,  instrumental  locations  for  a  canal  were  made,  and  plans 
and  approximate  estimates  of  construction  prepared. 

I  cite,  in  this  connection,  a  few  paragraphs  from  my  Report  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  of  October  26,  1875  [Annual  Report  of 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  the  year  1875,  pages  60,  61]:— 

"The  arduous  work  which  has  been  carefully  prosecuted  for  five 
"  seasons  by  two  or  more  parties,  from  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  to 
"  twenty  or  more  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Napipi,  on  the 
"  River  Atrato,  is  at  length  satisfactorily  accomplished. 

"  It  is  the  duty  of  this  Bureau  to  acknowledge  the  ability  and  energy 
"  of  the  different  officers  who  have  been  in  command,  and  the  untiring 
"zeal  and  faithful  and  intelligent  exertions  of  their  subordinates. 
"  The  precautions  of  those  in  command  are  shown  in  the  fact  that  not 
"one  officer  or  man  has  succumbed  to  climatic  influences,  though 
"many  doubtless  carried  the  seeds  of  disease  and  earlier  death  away 
"from  their  field  of  operations.  No  case  of  bad  conduct  in  either 


*  The  Commission,  appointed  March  13,  1872,  was  ordered  to  consist  of  the  Chief  of 
Engineers,  U.  S.  A.,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey,  and  the  Chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Navigation. 


12  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

"officer  or  man  engaged  on  this  work  has  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
"the  Bureau."         *         *         * 

"  By  tentative  surveys,  following  in  the  main  up  the  various  valleys 
"  on  both  coasts,  until  reaching  heights  and  distances  apart  that  would 
"  make  the  different  water-sheds  between  the  points  named  inferior  to 
"  other  points  already  known,  the  process  of  elimination  was  com- 
"  pleted.  It  was  a  long,  laborious  process,  taxing  the  endurance  of  the 
"  officers  and  men. 

"  Since  my  last  Report,  at  the  request  of  the  Commission  appointed 
"  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  inter-oceanic  canal,  by  your  order,  a 
"  careful  survey  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  was  made,  the  computa- 
"  tions  completed,  and  the  whole  placed  before  the  Commission. 

"  A  reconnoissance  on  the  west  coast  was  also  made  of  the  Rio 
"  Chepo  and  the  San  Bias  route,  where  the  tide-water  of  the  two 
"  oceans  approach  more  nearly  than  at  any  other  point.  This  work 
"  was  executed  by  Commander  E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  N.,  and  junior  naval 
"  officers,  aided  by  Civil  Engineer  A.  G.  Menocal,  U.  S.  N. 

"  At  the  instance  of  Commander  T.  O.  Selfridge,  who  had  executed 
"  the  former  work  on  what  is  known  at  the  Napipi  route,  the  Depart^ 
"  ment  directed  the  fitting  out  of  another  expedition  to  make  an  actual 
"  location  of  an  inter-oceanic  canal  along  this  line. 

"  This  work  was  assigned  to  Lieut.  F.  Collins  and  junior  naval 
"  officers. 

"  The  work  has  been  successful  accomplished,  the  computations 
"  made,  and  placed  before  the  Commission. 

"  So  careful  and  minute  has  been  the  examination  of  the  different 
"  water-sheds  up  to  the  point  of  manifest  inferiority  to  other  known 
"  points,  that  no  doubt  now  exists  as  to  the  approximate  labor  neces- 
"  sary  in  the  construction  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal  at  several 
"  points.  It  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  most  careful  and  elaborate 
"  surveys  would  necessarily  have  to  be  made  in  advance  at  any  point 
"  heretofore  examined  before  commencing  the  construction  of  an  inter- 
"  oceanic  ship  canal,  and  that  these  surveys  could  only  ameliorate  the 
"  labor  and  cost  of  construction,  inasmuch  as  the  locations,  as  given, 
"  are  actual  throughout  their  length,  and  would  only  be  changed  when 
"  an  advantage  would  be  gained  by  doing  so." 

In  view  of  these  conclusions,  which  I  hope  to  establish  fully  with 
those  who  will  re-examine  the  various  surveys  that  will  be  hereafter 
summarized,  I  have  read  with  some  surprise  the  postulates  recently 
and  widely  published  by  M.  Leon  Drouillet,  engineer,  and  member 
of  a  "  Commission  of  Commercial  Geography  of  Paris,"  lately  formed 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  13 

under  the  sanction  of  the  French  Socie'te'  de  Geographic — postulates 
on  this  subject  thus  seemingly  endorsed  by  that  learned  and  distin- 
guished body. 

Through  the  kindness  of  M.  Drouillet,  I  have  been  favored  with  a 
copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  "  French  Section  of  the  International 
Committee  for  the  Exploration  of  the  American  Isthmus,"  and  also 
with  a  pamphlet,  of  which  this  gentleman  is  the  author,  elaborating  a 
plan  for  such  an  international  exploration.* 

In  the  pamphlet  referred  to,  M.  Drouillet,  when  urging  the  neces- 
sity of  an  International  Exploration  of  the  American  Isthmus,  sets 
out  with  the  following  postulates  : — 

"  Le  probleme  de  la  Navigation  inter-Oce'anique  est  actuellement 
"  insoluble  par  suite  de  Pinsuffisance  des  donn^es  g^ographiques  et  des 
"  contradictions  flagrantes  qui  existent  dans  ces  donn£es ;  insuffisance 
"  et  contradictions  qui  ne  permettent  point  a  Finge'nieur  P6tude  appro- 
"  fondie  d'un  project  de^nnitif." 

["  The  problem  of  inter-oceanic  navigation  is,  at  present,  incapable 
"  of  solution  on  account  of  the  insufficiency  of  geographical  data,  and 
"  of  the  flagrant  contradictions  which  exist  in  these  data, — an  ins*uffi- 
"  ciency  and  contradictions  which  do  not  permit  the  engineer  to  study 
"  profoundly  a  definite  project."] 

On  the  strength  of  these  assertions,  with  the  seeming  approval  of 
the  Geographical  Society  of  Paris,  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  learned 
societies  of  the  world,  and  to  all  the  powers  interested,  to  lend  their 
aid  to  a  "  general  and  serious  exploration  of  the  Isthmus." 

In  view,  therefore,  of  the  long  series  of  elaborate  explorations  and 
reconnoissances  lately  made  by  the  United  States,  reported  upon  by 
the  Commission  to  the  President,  and  accepted  as  satisfactory  by  him, 
it  seems  proper  to  present  what  has  been  really  done  by  us,  and  to 
leave  to  the  good  judgment  of  those  societies  and  interested  powers 
whatever  action  seems  to  them  necessary  or  advisable. 

The  demand  for  a  re-survey  is  rested  upon  two  principal  grounds : — 

1st.  That  the  data  at  hand  are  insufficient. 


*  "  Societ6  de  Geographic  et  Commission  de  Geographic  Commerciale  de  Paris,  Sec- 
"  tion  Francaise  du  Comite  International  d'etude  pour  Pexploration  de  PIsthme  Americain 
"  en  vue  du  percement  d'un  Canal  inter-Oceanique. 

"  Proces  verbal  de  la  seance  du  II  Mai,  1876." 

"  Les  Ishthmes  Americains — Projet  d'une  exploration  Geographique  Internationale  des 
"  terrains  qui  semblent  presenter  le  plus  de  facilites  pour  le  Percement  d'un  Canal  Mari- 
*'  time  inter-Oceanique.  Par  M.  Leon  Drouillet,  Ingenieur  Membre  de  la  Societe  de 
"  Geographic  et  de  la  Commission  de  Geographic  Commerciale  de  Paris." 


14  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

2d.  That  what  is  available  is  flagrantly  contradictory. 

Let  us  consider  these  two  assertions  separately. 

As  for  the  sufficiency  of  the  data  at  hand,  without,  at  present,  going 
beyond  the  work  executed  for  the  most  part  during  the  past  six  years 
by  the  United  States  alone,  we  may  point  to  the  following  not  incon- 
siderable sources  of  reliable  information  respecting  every  part  of  the 
isthmus,  of  any  promise,  for  a  canal — from  Teh uan tepee  to  the 
Napipi  River,  in  South  America. 

Of  our  surveys  and  reconnoissances  the  following  is  a  list  in  the 
geographical  order  from  the  north  and  west  to  the  south  and  east,  in 
regard  to  which  list  it  is  to  be  specially  noted  that  every  survey  and 
reconnoissance  was  made  with  instruments  of  precision,  unless  mention 
to  the  contrary  is  herein  made. 

All  lines  upon  which  calculations  have  been  founded  were  run  by 
compass  and  chain,  or  transit  and  chain,  or  by  gradienter  and  stadia- 
rod,  the  barometer  being  relied  upon  only  to  fill  in  the  topography  on 
either  side  of  the  main  line. 

1.  Instrumental  reconnoissance  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  by 
Capt.  R.  W.  Shufeldt,  U.  S.  X.,  1872. 

2.  Examination,  survey,  and  definite  instrumental  location  of  an 
inter-oceanic  canal  route  from  the  vincinity  of    Gt*eytown  via  Lake 
Nicaragua,  and  thence  via  the  Rios  del  Medio  and  Grande  to  Brito, 
by  Commander  E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  K,  1872  and  1873 ;  with  some  pre- 
liminary operations   by  Commander  Chester  Hatfield,  U.  S.  N.,  in 
1872. 

3.  Examination,  survey,  and  definite  instrumental  locations  of  an 
inter-oceanic  canal  route  from  Navy  Bay  to  Panama,  by  Commander 
E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  N.,  1875. 

4.  Examination  and  surveys  from  the  Gulf  of  San  Bias  towards  the 
River  Chepo,  by  Commander  T.  O.  Selfridge,  U.  S.  N.,  1870;  and 

Reconnoissance  from  the  waters  of  the  Chepo  toward  the  Gulf  of 
San  Bias,  by  Commander  E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  N.,  1875. 

5.  Several  tentative  instrumental  lines  in  the  vicinity  of  Caledonia 
Bay,  across  the  Cordilleras  to  the  wraters  of  Sucubti  and  Morti  rivers, 
tributaries  to  the  Chucunaque,  by  parties  under  the  direction  of  Com- 
mander T.  O.  Selfridge,  U.  S.  N.,  1871. 

6.  A   barometrical   reconnoissance    of    the   so-called    "  De   Puydt 
Route"  by  way  of  the  Tanela  River  between   the   Tuyra   and   the 
Atrato,  by  a  party  under  the  direction  of  Commander  T.  O.  Selfridge, 
U.  S.  K,  1871. 

7.  Tentative  instrumental  lines  by  the  so-called  "  Gogorza  Route," 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  15 

from  the  eastern  coast  via  the  Atrato,  Cacariea,  and  Peranchita  rivers, 
and  from  the  west  coasts  via  the  Tuyra  and  Cue'  rivers  across  the 
"divide,"  by  parties  under  the  direction  of  Commander  T.  O.  Sel- 
fridge,  U.  S.  N.,  1871. 

8.  An  instrumental  examination  of  what  is  known  as  the  "  Truando 
Route,"  by  Lieuts.  Michler,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Craven,  U.  S.  N.,  1856-57. 

An  instrumental  reconnoissance  of  the  Napipi  and  Cuia  rivers,  in- 
cluding a  reconnoissance  of  the  Atrato  River  to  the  town  of  Quibdd, 
by  parties  under  the  direction  of  Commander  T.  O.  Selfridge,  U.  S. 
N.,  1871  and  1873. 

10.  Tentative  examinations  and  definite  instrumental  location  of  an 
inter-oceanic  canal  route  by  way  of  the  Napipi  and  Doguado  rivers, 
by  Lieut,  Frederick  Collins,  U.  S.  N.,  1875. 

The  results  of  these  several  explorations  will  now  be  briefly  noted 
in  the  same  order : — 

1.  Tehuan tepee. — Indisputably    inferior    to    other    known    points. 
Number  of  locks  required,  140.     Length  of  canalization,  144  miles. 

2.  Nicaragua. — A  summit  of  107.6  feet;  length  of  canal  requiring 
excavation,  61.75  English  miles;  slack-water  navigation  by  means  of 
dams  in  the  bed  of  the  San  Juan  River,  from  the  mouth  of  the  San 
Carlos  to  Lake  Nicaragua,  a  distance  of  63  miles.     Lake  navigation 
for  56.5  miles  to  Virgin  Bay ;  and  thence  via  the  valleys  of  the  Rio 
del  Medio  and  Rio  Grande  to  Brito. 

This  plan  involves  the  construction  of  four  dams  having  an  average 
height  of  29.5  feet,  and  an  aggregate  length  of  one  thousand  three 
hundred  and  twenty  (1320)  yards;  and  of  twenty  locks  of  an  average 
lift  of  ten  and  twenty-eight  hundredths  (10.28)  feet  each.  It  also 
involves  the  construction  of  two  harbors  of  sufficient  extent  to  insure, 
at  least,  a  smooth  and  safe  entrance  into  and  exit  from  the  canal. 

It  is  worth  remarking,  that  M.  Drouillet,  in  presenting  the  fifteen 
projects  in  this  vicinity,  does  not  distinctly  describe  this  route  (pro- 
jected after  a  careful  instrumental  survey,  involving  several  tentative 
lines  from  Lake  Nicaragua  to  the  Pacific) ;  nor  would  a  reader  of  the 
pamphlet  referred  to  assign  this  line  as  above  presented  to  any  one  of 
the  fifteen  projects  given  in  it.  This  leads  to  the  supposition  that  he 
has  given  the  preference  to  some  of  the  less  exact  surveys  or  suppositi- 
tious pretensions  quoted  as  examined;  and  this  belief  is  entirely 
verified  by  the  fact  that  he  gives  the  actual  height  of  Lake  Nicaragua 
above  the  sea  level  as  37  metres,  which  is  thirteen  and  six-tenths 
(13.6)  English  feet  in  excess  of  the  true  elevation  (as  presented  by  our 
careful  instrumental  surveys) — in  excess  even  of  the  elevation  to 


16  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

which  the  mean  elevation  of  the  surface  of  the  lake  is  to  be  raised  and 
maintained  by  a  dam. 

3.  Panama. — This   survey,   executed,   as    has   been   said,   at   the 
request  of  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  President  to  investigate 
the  whole  question  of  a  ship  canal,  made  an  actual  location  along  an 
entire  route.     Maps,  plans,  and  estimates  for  excavation  and  con- 
struction have  been  carefully  prepared,  as  upon  the  Nicaragua  route, 
and  on  a  common  basis  of  cost  for  like  labor.     The  Report  of  the 
survey  published  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  for   1875  does   not  appear  to   have    been  in  M.   Drouillet's 
possession. 

4.  San  Bias. — The  surveys  of  Commander  Selfridge  from  the  east 
coast,  and  those  of  Commander  Lull  from  the  western,  demonstrated 
that  there  is  no  practicable  route  between  the  Gulf  of  San  Bias  and 
the  waters   of  the   Chepo,  even  with  a  tunnel  of  eight  (8)   miles, 
although  between  these  points  the  tides  approach  each  other  from  the 
two  oceans  more  nearly  than  elsewhere. 

5.  Caledonia    Bay. — The   tentative   instrumental   lines   from   the 
northern  and  southern  parts  of  Caledonia  Bay  across  the  "  divide  "  to 
the  elevated  beds  of  the  Morti  and  Sucubti  rivers  showed,  for  the 
second  time,  that  the  information  of  Edward  Cullen  was  an  inven- 
tion. 

The  line  from  the  southern  extremity  of  Caledonia  Bay  crossed  the 
"  divide "  at  an  elevation  of  twelve  hundred  and  fifty-nine.  (1259) 
feet,  and  struck  the  bed  of  the  Sucubti  at  a  height  of  five  hundred 
and  fifty-three  (553)  feet,  thus  precluding  the  possibility  of  any  pass 
under  that  altitude  above  the  point  reached  on  the  Sucubti. 

The  line  from  the  northern  extremity  of  the  bay  up  the  valley  of 
the  Sassardi  and  across  the  "  divide  "  to  the  Morti  crossed  at  an  alti- 
tude of  eleven  hundred  and  forty-eight  (1148)  feet,  and  no  indica- 
tion of  any  pass  under  one  thousand  (1000)  feet  could  be  discovered. 

This  line  is  marked  by  M.  Drouillet  for  re-examination. 

6.  De  Puydt's  Route. — The  exact  line  advocated  by  De  Puydt,  as 
obtained  from  a  gentleman  who  had  accompanied  him,  was  followed 
for  some  thirty-three  (33)  miles.     At  this  distance  an  elevation  of  six 
hundred   and   thirty-eight   (638)    feet   had  been  reached,  while  the 
mountains  of  the  divide  were  plainly  visible  beyond.     Three  mercu- 
rial mountain  barometers  were  used ;  one  at  the  sea-level  was  observed 
at  short  intervals  during  the  whole  reconnoissance,  the  other  two  were 
carried  by  the  party ;    bench-marks  were  established  at  convenient 
distances,  one  barometer  remaining  at  each  bench  until   another  had 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  17 

reached  the  next,  and  until  sets  of  differential  observations  had  been 
obtained. 

7.  The  Atndo-Tuyra  Route. — The  tentative  instrumental  lines  from 
the  east  and  the  west  coasts,  which  were  run  in  the  examination  of 
this  supposed  route,  established  the  fact  that  Hellert,  La  Charme,  and 
Gogorza  were  pretenders — were  it  indeed  necessary  to  establish  this  in 
the  case  of  those  who  have  done  no  more  than  make  unsupported 
assertions.  Our  regular  line  of  survey — by  way  of  the  Atrato  and 
Peranchita  rivers  on  the  east,  and  the  Tuyra  and  Cue"  rivers  on  the 
west — crossed  the  "divide"  at  an  altitude  of  712  feet;  while  a  little 
further  north  Capt.  Selfridge  crossed  at  a  height  of  400  feet,  as 
estimated  from  rough  observations  with  his  pocket  aneroid. 

M.  de  Gogorza  claims  that  Capt.  Selfridge's  examinations  did  not 
cover  his  proposed  route ;  but  it  will  always  be  possible  for  him  and 
other  authors  of  brilliant  but  vague  projects  to  make  this  complaint 
regarding  any  expedition  not  led  by  themselves.  Whether  the  exact 
route  proposed  by  M.  Gogorza  was  followed  in  this  case  or  not,  it  is 
certain  that  the  explorations  were  sufficiently  extensive  to  show  that 
the  whole  country,  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  divide  especially,  is  a 
net-work  of  high  hills,  which  feature,  taken  in  connection  with  the 
extensive  swamps  on  the  Atlantic  side,  is  sufficient  to  condemn  the 
route,  independently  of  the  height  of  the  dividing  ridge.* 

(This  locality,  with  two  preceding  ones,  involving  also  the  region 
of  a  third,  comprise  points  specially  noted  by  M.  Drouillet  for  exami- 
nation ;  he  thus  entirely  ignores  the  joint  attempt  by  the  English,  the 
French,  and  ourselves  on  the  latter  route  in  1854,  and  the  recent 
instrumental  disprovement  of  it,  with  the  others,  by  us.} 


*  Since  writing  this  paper,  the  pamphlet  and  map  very  recently  published  in  Paris  by 
M.  de  Gogorza  have  come  into  my  possession.  In  this  pamphlet — "  Canal  Inter- 
oceanique  sans  ecluses  ni  Tunnels"  (!) — M.  Gogorza  asserts  that  Commander  Selfridge's 
surveys  support  his  own,  as  far  as  they  were  made  over  the  same  ground.  This  is  an 
ERROR.  Commander  Selfridge  gives  the  height  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  Paya  at  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  (144)  feet,  and  the  height  of  Paya  village  at  two  hundred  and 
fifty  (250)  feet.  M.  Gogorza  gives  the  same  height  for  the  mouth  of  the  Paya,  but  is 
silent  as  to  the  heights  in  ascending  to  the  village  of  Paya,  20  miles  above,  following  the 
sinuosities  of  the  stream,  and  does  not  give  the  height  of  that  milage  at  all.  He  contents 
himself  with  asserting  that,  at  a  distance  of  miles  beyond  the  village,  at  the  summit-level, 
the  height  is  only  fifty-eight  metres  (58),— one  hundred  and  ninety  feet, — that  is  ij  say, 
sixty  feet  below  the  village  ! 

The  altitude  of  the  mouth  of  the  Paya  River  itself,  as  given  by  himself,  and  on  better 
authority,  contradicts  flatly  his  assertion  that  a  ship  canal,  without  locks  or  tunnels,  can 
be  located  betwen  the  summit-level,  the  village  of  Paya,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Paya 
River.  He  terminates  his  canal  at  the  Isla  de  Lagartos,  but  does  not  locate  that  signifi- 
cant island. 


18  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

9  and  10.  The  Atrato-Napipi  Route. — This  was  examined  first  by 
parties  under  the  direction  of  Commander  Selfridge,  and  afterwards 
by  Lieut.  Collins.  By  the  last-named  officer  a  definite  instrumental 
location  for  a  canal  was  made;  the  question  of  additional  water 
supply  from  the  Cuia  was  investigated,  and  calculations  for  excava- 
tion and  construction  framed  on  a  common  basis  for  like  labor  as  for 
Nicaragua  and  Panama.  The  report  of  this  survey,  without  maps 
and  plans,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Report  of  the  Secre- 
tary for  1875.  The  lack  of  appropriation  for  publishing  this  report, 
and  that  made  by  Commander  Lull  on  Panama,  in  full,  is  regretted. 

These  surveys  are  not  named  by  M.  Drouillet  in  his  list  of  authori- 
ties. 

These  repeated  and  laborious  surveys  certainly  indicate  the  con- 
tinued interest  which  the  United  States  has  taken  in  the  construction 
of  a  canal.  This  interest  dates  back,  indeed,  to  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  and  its  appreciation  by  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  was  shown  as  early  as  1835,  by  an  elaborate  report  in  the 
House  of  Representatives ;  as  subsequently  by  various  official  inqui- 
ries and  American  treaties.  (See  Report  No.  145,  Ho.  Rep.  30th 
Congress,  2d  Session,  et  al.) 

If  necessary,  not  a  few  other  American  authorities  might  be  cited, 
such  as  those  of  Trautwine,  Kennish,  Porter,  Totten,  and  Childs, 
employed  by  private  American  enterprise,  as  affording  reliable  inform- 
ation within  the  limits  claimed ;  but  it  would  appear  that  the  suffi- 
ciency of  the  data  is  already  manifest,  provided  their  authenticity  is 
unquestioned :  and  this  brings  me  to  the  second  postulate  of  M. 
Drouillet,  that  "  the  data  at  hand  are  flagrantly  contradictory." 

But  here  I  repeat  that  our  surveys  have  been  pursued  for  several 
years  by  officers  of  well-established  reputation  and  ability,  and  by 
full  and  competent  scientific  staffs,  with  every  advantage  of  outfit,  of 
instruments  and  stores  ;  and,  in  the  latter  surveys,  with  the  additional 
advantage  of  the  experience  possessed  by  the  principal  officers, — an 
experience  to  be  acquired  only  in  the  field. 

The  scientific  staff  of  the  first  expedition  of  Commander  Selfridge 
numbered  thirty-five  (35)  members,  including  astronomers,  geologists, 
mineralogists,  topographical  and  hydrographical  engineers,  telegraphers, 
photographers,  and  others.  The  men  attached  to  this  expedition,  ex- 
clusive of  natives  employed  as  laborers,  numbered  about  300.  Three 
ships-of-war  were  also  attached  to  the  survey, — two  on  the  Atlantic 
side  and  one  011  the  Pacific  side. 

The  scientific  staff  of  the  second  expedition  of  Commander  Selfridge 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  19 

numbered  thirty  (30)  members,  exclusive  of  the  officers  of  the  U.  S. 
S.  "  Nipsic"  and  "  Resaca,"  both  of  which,with  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Guard/' 
were  attached  to  the  expedition. 

The  Tchuantepec  and  Nicaragua  expeditions  were  equipped  with 
like  liberality. 

Able  officers  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  and  Civil  Engineers  were 
associated  with  the  commanding  officers  in  these  various  expeditions; 
notably  Messrs.  Sullivan,  Mosman,  Ogden,  Merinden,  and  Blake,  all 
of  them  distinguished  Coast  Survey  officers,  trained  in  the  severely 
correct  methods  of  that  service,  were  with  commander  Selfridge; 
A.  G.  Menocal,  Civil  Engineer,  U.  S.  N.,  with  Commander  Lull ; 
A.  E.  Fuertes,  Civil  Engineer,  with  Capt.  Shufeldt.  Commander 
Lull  and  Lieut.  Collins  had  served  with  Commander  Selfridge  in  the 
earlier  expeditions  in  Darien,  and  many  of  the  officers  subsequently 
associated  with  them  had  also  seen  service  in  the  same  way. 

The  work  assigned  to  the  expeditions  thus  equipped  was  laid  out 
by  careful  and  ample  instructions  from  the  Navy  Department,  and 
was  satisfactorily  performed ;  the  results  obtained  are  believed  to  be 
all  that  the  nature  of  the  conditions  rendered  possible. 

None  of  these  extended  surveys  conflict  in  any  degree  with  each 
other  or  with  other  partial  surveys  or  reconnoisances  which  have  been 
at  times  undertaken  by  private  American  enterprise.  If  any  authentic 
instrumental  surveys  or  proper  tentative  lines  in  the  possession  of  M. 
Drouillet  disprove  or  contradict  any  one  of  our  surveys,  this  would 
certainly  be  of  profound  interest  to  the  learned  societies  of  the  world, 
and  afford  for  them  foundation  for  further  projects  of  exploration, 
however  little  they  are  considered  necessary  by  those  who  have  gone 
through  these  repeated  practical  labors  and  experiences  in  the  gloomy 
fastnessness  of  the  great  American  isthmus.  Until,  however,  such 
authentic  contradictory  data  can  be  shown,  it  must  appear  that  the 
"flagrant  contradictions"  asserted  to  exist  arise  from  a  want  of 
placing  merited  confidence  in  the  surveys  of  the  United  States.  If  the 
unsupported  statements  of  men  who  discover  the  proper  site  for  an 
inter-oceanic  canal  by  "observing  the  flight  of  low-flying  Pisisi 
ducks,"  or  who  obtain  their  altitudes  "  by  the  velocity  of  mountain- 
streams,"  or  the  boiling-point  of  water  merely,  or  who  are  confident 
of  a  continuous  depression  from  the  mere  aspect  of  the  forests,  as  seen 
from  on  board  ship,  or  from  having  observed  an  "  inclination  of  the 
ground  to  be  scarcely  perceptible," — if  these  deceptive  appearances, 
so  well  recognized  by  travelers,  some  of  which  were  strongly  noted  in 
this  very  connection  by  Humboldt  when  describing  his  ascent  from 


20  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

Callao  to  Lima,  are  to  be  placed  alongside  of  official  Government 
surveys,  then  certainly  "  the  flagrant  contradictions "  must  be  expected, 
and  will  certainly  exist,  if  even  the  new,  general,  and  "serious"  survey 
now  claimed  to  be  necessary  is  undertaken  and  completed. 

The  deceptive  appearance  of  the  mountain-ranges  from  the  sea, 
which  has  misled  so  many,  was  thus  noted  by  Lieut.  Michler,  U.  S. 
A.,  in  his  Report  of  1856—57:  "In  looking  back  from  the  ocean 
upon  the  country  through  which  the  travelers  had  recently  passed, 
the  depression  in  the  Cordilleras  becomes  plainly  visible.  It  seems 
to  lose  its  mountainous  character  entirely.  One 

can  easily,  therefore,  conceive  why  a  preference  should  have  been 
shown  to  this  section  by  those  interested  in  the  construction  of  a  canal. " 
And  the  common  experience  of  our  officers  on  the  isthmus  has  been, 
that  wherever  a  line  of  low  elevation  has  been  affirmed  to  exist  on  the 
strength  of  the  authority  of  "  old  Spanish  maps  or  documents,"  or  on 
the  information  of  "  intelligent  persons  residing  in  the  vicinity,"  or 
"through  conversations  with  the  natives,"  there  an  elevated,  for- 
bidding range  of  mountains  or  hills  has  been  found. 

Our  surveys  have  been  undertaken  and  conducted  with  a  view  to 
ascertain  the  relative  practicability  of  all  possible  canal  routes.  It  is 
not  affirmed  that  they  are  sufficiently  extensive  and  minute  at  all 
points  to  afford  the  engineer  full  data  for  locating  a  canal,  and  for 
estimating  its  approximate  cost.  Actual  instrumental  locations  of 
determinate  lines  throughout  were  made  at  three  points  only, — at 
Nicaragua,  Panama,  and  the  Napipi.  The  tentative  lines  in  other 
places  were  carried  only  sufficiently  far  to  demonstrate  their  impracti- 
cability or  manifest  relative  inferiority;  thus  eliminating,  however, 
all  such  territory  from  the  canal  problem. 

If  it  is  in  the  plan  of  M.  Drouillet,  or  of  others,  to  procure  the 
precise  data  called  for  by  the  engineer  on  each  of  the  pretended,  or  of 
the  real  lines  of  promise  for  a  canal,  there  will  certainly  be  need  by 
such  parties  of  the  most  extensive  co-operation  in  every  particular, 
which  is  invited  in  the  publication  referred  to. 

The  natural  conditions  of  the  American  isthmus  will  be  found 
widely  different  from  those  of  Suez,  to  which  constant  reference  is 
made.  One  is  a  region  of  extraordinary  rainfall — the  other  of  extreme 
dry  ness  ;  the  one  covered  with  impenetrable  and  interminable  forests 
— the  other  wholly  denuded ;  the  one  a  region  of  steep  escarpments 
and  water-sheds,  where  every  ravine,  many  times  during  the  year, 
becomes  a  river  of  rapid  waters  rushing  wildly  to  the  sea  and  bearing 
huge  masses  of  silt,  giant  bowlders,  and  fallen  trees — the  other  simply 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  21 

a  sandy  level  plain.  If  the  existence  of  any  narrow  American  valley, 
many  miles  in  length,  between  the  seas,  be  admitted,  and  a  canal 
without  locks  be  supposed  to  be  located  therein,  it  must  become  the 
ultimate  drainage  of  that  whole  tropical  valley.  By  what  human  power 
could  it  be  kept  clear  of  the  debris  swept  into  it  by  every  heavy  rain- 
fall along  its  entire  length  ? 

Let  such  low  valleys,  however,  continue  to  be  pointed  out,  "  for  a 
canal  without  lock  or  tunnel,"  as  by  M.  De  Puydt,  M.  Gogorza,  or 
by  whomsoever  can  hold  forth  the  most  brilliant  promise ;  let  further 
search  be  made  by  whomsoever  feels  interested,  hopeful,  and  credu- 
lous ;  and  let  the  work  go  on,  aided  by  such  forces,  Governmental  or 
otherwise,  as  may  be  furnished :  the  United  States  and  its  learned 
societies  may  properly  decline  co-operation.  The  question  whether 
the  authorities  I  have  quoted  are  sufficient  to  determine  the  location 
of  a  transcontinental  ship  canal  is  an  open  one ;  those  who  think  the 
authority  insufficient  may  well  proceed  with  whatever  surveys  they 
may  deem  necessary. 

In  submitting  to  learned  societies  what  has  been  done,  no  indul- 
gence for  nationality  is  desired ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can  there  be 
a  tenable  assumption  that  we  are  incapable  of  obtaining  results  which 
can  be  obtained  by  others,  or  that  we  have  not  the  integrity  to  present 
them  fairly.  Surveys  tell  their  own  story,  and  discredit  themselves 
if  they  are  to  be  discredited.  I  feel  sure  that  this  learned  body  would 
not  willingly  discourage  others  in  the  prosecution  of  further  surveys, 
however  unnecessary  the  Society  may  consider  them,  and  however 
unwilling,  therefore,  itself  to  participate  in  them. 

In  Paris,  in  August,  1875,  it  was  urged  by  persons  who  may, 
perhaps,  be  properly  styled  adventurers,  attending  the  International 
Geographical  Congress,  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  had 
really  shown  no  interest  in  the  subject  of  a  transcontinental  Ameri- 
can canal,  and  that  our  information  and  surveys  amounted  to  but 
little.  The  misapprehension  on  the  first  of  these  points,  if  it  exists, 
is  too  apparent  to  require  contradiction ;  the  assumption  of  the  second 
seems  the  result  of  not  having  examined  what  the  United  States  have 
done,  or  it  is  the  affectation  of  a  belief  that  we  cannot  do  the  work  as 
well  as  any  other  people. 

So  far  from  the  United  States  being  indifferent  to  the  construction 
of  an  inter-oceanic  canal,  for  more  than  fifty  years,  *  as  has  been 


*  See  Correspondence   between   Mr.  Clay  and   our  Charge,  Mr.  Williams,  and   Mr. 
Canaza,  "  Minister  of  the  Centre,"  in  April,  1825. 


22  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

shown,  we  have  endeavored  to  establish  the  practicability  of  the  work 
at  the  most  favorable  point ;  and  I  venture  nothing  in  asserting  that 
our  Government  will  be  anxious  to  do  whatever  is  proper  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  the  work  on  the  broadest  principles  of  common 
benefit  to  all  nations  and  peoples. 

It  is  asserted  that  Great  Britain  would  oppose  it,  under  the  supposi- 
tion of  its  injury  to  the  Suez  Canal,  in  which  she  has  now  a  pecuniary 
interest.  But  when  by  reference  to  the  map  it  is  seen  how  readily  an 
American  ship  canal  will  bring  her  into  communication  with  the 
eastern  coast  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  relieving  her  outward- 
bound  voyages  of  head  winds,  it  is  safe  to  assert  that  such  advantage, 
with  others,  would  exceed  in  value  yearly  her  whole  interest  in  the 
Suez  Canal. 

The  American  transcontinental  canal  will  bring  Great  Britain 
within  easy  commercial  relations  with  the  entire  west  coast  of 
America,  exchanging  the  stormy  passage  around  Cape  Horn,  with 
head  winds,  for  a  short  American  route  with  fair  winds  and  good 
weather ;  it  will  make  the  products  of  British  Columbia  and  of  Cen- 
tral America  (where  British  trade  is  even  now  so  important)  doubly 
valuable ;  and  it  will  bring  the  wheat  products  of  California  more 
fully  and  competitively  into  British  markets,  thus  cheapening  and 
making  less  fluctuating  the  price  of  breadstuff*, — an  incalculable 
advantage  for  the  masses  of  a  manufacturing  and  commercial  country. 
And  while  this  is  true,  it  is  equally  demonstrable  by  an  inspection  of 
the  world-map  that  the  great  lines  of  commercial  intercourse  and  of 
civilization  are  distinct,  and  therefore  uninviting  any  prejudicial 
rivalry  as  regards  the  two — the  Eastern  and  the  Western  isthmus — 
ship  canals.  The  Suez  Canal  is  the  opened  gate  for  the  inland  sea 
route  of  Europe  and  North  Africa  with  Southern  Asia  and  its  Archi- 
pelago :  the  American  isthmus  canal  invitee  Europe  with  our  own 
commerce  to  the  whole  west  coast  of  the  Americas,  to  Northern  China 
and  Japan,  and  southwardly  to  the  Australian  Continent.  Nor  can 
commerce  longer  forget  that  not  only  the  drainage  of  the  rivers 
emptying  into  the  American  Mediterranean  is  of  an  area  greater  than 
that  of  all  the  rivers  emptying  from  Europe  into  the  Atlantic,  and  of 
all  those  emptying  into  the  Mediterranean  and  into  the  Indian  Ocean^ 
but  that  the  valleys  of  these  American  rivers  are  those  of  different 
productive  zonas.  The  back  country  essential  to  commerce  exists 
here,  therefore  (as  Maury  showed  twenty-five  years  ago),  around  the 
Mexican  Gulf  and  the  Caribbean  Sea,  larger  than  that  around  any 
other  sea. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  23 

It  is  said  that  the  overland  railroad  interests  will  oppose  the  con- 
struction of  a  transcontinental  ship  canal.  This  will  certainly  not 
be  the  case  if  they  study  their  own  advantage. 

This  year  the  wheat  crop  for  export  at*  California  alone  is  stated  to 
be  in  excess  of  twenty  millions  (20,000,000)  of  sacks  of  100  Ibs.  each, 
none  of  which  can  be  sent  to  the  Eastern  coast  by  railroad  without  a 
commercial  loss. 

The  undoubted  advantage  to  a  railroad  is  to  favor  the  most 
economic  means  of  transport  of  this  great  product,  and  of  other  gross 
and  valuable  products  not  transported  by  rail.  For  by  thus  pro- 
moting their  increase  (needed  for  the  supply  of  Europe  and  of  our 
own  Eastern  coast)  the  railroad  must  surely  gain  a  recompense 
through  the  travel  consequent  upon  an  increased  and  healthy  popu- 
lation on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  the  transportation  of  the  light  and 
valuable  freights  that  would  of  necessity  then  exist  to  meet  their 
wants.  It  requires  but  small  comprehension  of  the  situation  to 
appreciate  the  fact  that  the  construction  of  a  transcontinental  canal 
would  build  up  instead  of  injuring  railroad  interests  between  the  two 
oceans. 

By  our  geographical  position  and  relative  proximity  to  the  isthmus 
and  the  countries  beyond,  we  have  a  greater  interest  than  any 
European  power  in  the  construction  of  this  great  work.  The  com- 
merce of  the  whole  world,  however,  has  large  interest  in  it,  and, 
therefore,  the  cost  of  its  construction,  and  its  profits,  as  well  as  other 
consequent  advantages,  seem  common  to  all.  This  necessarily  involves 
a  broad  neutrality  for  the  canal  and  its  approaches, — a  neutrality  to 
be  supported  either  passively  or  actively,  as  the  nations  may  best 
exert  their  forces. 

The  correction  of  misconceptions  on  this  whole  subject,  and  the 
apparent  advantage  of  stating,  at  this  time,  definitely  its  true  condi- 
tion, has  been  the  object  of  this  paper.  In  common  with  many 
others,  I  have  looked  for  many  years,  with  much  interest,  to  the 
development  of  this  problem  in  a  commercial  view,  which,  in  fact, 
involves  its  realization.  No  doubt  exists  now  of  this  commercial 
practicability.  I  may  add,  as  a  personal  conviction,  that,  however 
long  and  seriously  the  search  may  be  continued  for  "  results "  by 
surveys,  nothing  can  be  or  will  be  developed  so  advantageous  as  that 
which  the  surveys  of  our  Government  present  for  your  consideration. 
I  am  very  respectfully  yours,  , 

DANIEL  AMMEN, 
Commodore  II.  S.  Navy  and  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Navigation. 


24  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 


INTER-OCEANIC  SHIP  CANAL  ACROSS  THE  AMERICAN 

ISTHMUS. 

BY   REAR-ADMIRAL    DANIEL    AMMEN,    U.    S.    NAVY. 

THE  PROPOSED  INTER-OCEANIC  SHIP  CANAL  BETWEEN  GREYTOWN  AND 
BRITO,  VIA  LAKE  NICARAGUA;  ITS  FEASIBILITY  AS  A  COMMER- 
CIAL QUESTION,  AND  ITS  ADVANTAGES  AS  COMPARED  WITH 
OTHER  PROPOSED  LINES. 

[Read  before  the  American  Geographical  Society,  Nov.  VI.  1878.] 

Two  years  ago  I  had  the  honor  to  have  read  before  this  Society,  by 
its  Secretary,  a  paper  upon  the  sufficiency  of  the  information  relating 
to  the  topography  of  this  continent,  for  the  consideration  and  discus- 
sion of  a  transcontinental  ship  canal.  The  object  was  to  set  forth 
Avhat  was  really  known  concerning  the  topography  of  the  whole  region 
which  might  be  regarded  as  affording  possible  conditions  for  its 
construction. 

Notwithstanding  the  laborious  and  creditable  surveys  made  public 
before  that  time,  and  (j  noted  to  show  the  sufficiency  of  our  informa- 
tion, it  was  believed  by  some  learned  men  in  Europe  that  the  topog- 
raphy of  certain  portions  of  the  territory  had  not  been  sufficiently 
developed.  Under  this  belief,  with  praiseworthy  action,  they  had  set 
on  foot  a  surveying  party,  well-equipped,  under  the  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant AVyse,  of  the  French  Navy,  who  was  en  route  to  make  pro- 
jected survevs  over  the  region  referred  to,  at  the  time  of  the  reading 
of  my  paper. 

Two  seasons  have  been  employed  in  the  execution  of  these  surveys, 
which  have,  without  doubt,  been  ably  made,  and  are  reliable  within 
the  limits  claimed  by  experts  in  such  works;  they  are  sufficient  to 
form  the  basis  of  an  instrumental  location  of  the  proposed  work,  and 
to  permit  an  approximate  calculation  of  the  labor  necessary  where 
construction  is  within  the  possibilities  of  the  engineer.  These  surveys 
are,  in  this  respect,  useful,  and  especially  for  the  consideration  of 
those  who  thought  the  information  presented  two  years  ago  was 
insufficient. 

It  is  a  fair  presumption  that  the  route  over  which   an    inter-oceanic 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  25 

ship  canal  should  be  constructed  can  only  be  named  when  it  is  shown 
that  no  better  one  exists.  At  this  time  the  information  is  supposed 
to  be  all  that  can  be  desired  by  any  one,  relative  to  a  fair  considera- 
tion of  the  subject. 

After  an  examination  of  the  Reports  of  Lieutenant  Wyse,  of  both 
seasons,  I  have  the  belief  that  the  closing  paragraph  of  my  last  paper 
is  verified ;  namely,  "  That  no  possible  route  exists  comparable  with 
what  had  been  presented  in  the  surveys  made  by  order  of  our 
Government." 

The  able  Reports  of  Commander  E.  P.  Lull  and  Civil  Engineer  A. 
G.  Menocal,  U.  S.  Navy,  on  the  Nicaragua  route,  are  sufficiently 
full  for  examination  and  criticism  by  the  civil  engineer  or  the  expert. 
There  has  been  given,  throughout,  a  careful  consideration  to  that 
most  important,  indeed  it  may  be  called  vital,  question  in  the  construc- 
tion of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal  in  that  region,  an  ample  and 
studied  provision  to  prevent  any  considerable  quantity  of  surface 
drainage  entering  the  canal,  and  the  feasibility  of  accomplishing  this 
object  on  the  located  route,  as  compared  with  other  routes,  is,  in  my 
belief,  a  most  important  point  in  its  favor. 

The  most  important  physical  feature  is  the  existence  of  Lake 
Nicaragua,  which,  when  full,  is  107.6  feet  above  the  ocean-levels. 
This  is  designed  to  be  the  summit-level  of  the  canal.  The  lake  has  a 
superfice  of  2800  miles,  with  a  surface  drainage  falling  into  it  roughly 
estimated  at  9450  miles,  which  furnish  an  outflow  of  water  by  the 
San  Juan  River  twenty  times  as  great  as  the  commerce  of  the  world 
could  require  in  the  lockage  of  vessels  passing  through  the  canal. 

Even  this  superabundant  water  supply  without  the  cost  of  a  feeder 
is  not  the  most  beneficent  feature;  it  is  in  the  equalization  of  floods 
from  so  large  a  superfice,  so  that  in  reality  the  surface  level  of  the 
lake  may  be  said  to  change  almost  imperceptibly  from  day  to  day. 
In  this  lies  the  practicability  of  utilizing  the  upper  part  of  the  San 
Juan  River  for  slack  water  navigation.  The  river  itself  favors  this, 
by  reason  of  its  singularly  small  water-shed,  other  than  that  of  and 
through  the  lake.  On  the  one  side,  it  is  flanked  by  the  Rio  Frio, 
which  runs  in  almost  the  opposite  direction,  and  empties  its  waters 
into  the  lake,  and  on  the  other,  by  a  very  narrow  water-shed  above 
the  mouth  of  the"  San  Carlos,  below  which  it  is  not  designed  to  use 
the  bed  of  the  stream. 

The  River  San  Carlos,  flowing  from  the  mountains  of  Costa  Rica, 
has  the  general  features  of  inter-tropical  mountain  streams,  and  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  River  San  Juan  in  periods  of  floods,  throws 


26  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

"back  water"  far  above  the  Machuca  Falls,  16  miles  above,  on  the 
San  Juan  River.  Below  the  mouth  of  the  River  San  Carlos,  from 
its  floods  and  the  vast  quantity  of  debris  transported  by  it,  the 
utilization  of  the  bed  of  the  San  Juan  River,  for  slack  water  navi- 
gation, would  be  hopelessly  impossible.  This  river,  forming  so 
marked  a  contrast  to  the  San  Juan,  seems  a  reminder  of  the  imprac- 
ticability of  utilizing  the  bed  of  any  stream  other  than  the  San  Juan, 
in  that  region,  for  slack- water  navigation,  or  indeed  of  constructing 
a  "thorough  cut/'  by  which  is  meant  an  inter-oceanic  canal  without 
locks.  A  canal  so  made  must  be  the  ultimate  drainage  of  all  the 
adjacent  water-sheds,  and  must  receive  the  debris  of  the  mountain 
torrents,  amounting,  in  the  aggregate,  to  incalculable  thousands  of  tons 
yearly. 

A  verification  of  the  necessity  of  guarding  against  surface  drain- 
age falling  into  a  canal  is  given  on  page  1  of  the  Bulletin  Decadaire 
of  the  Suez  Canal,  of  June  12th,  1878.  In  summing  up  expendi- 
tures for  repairs  is  the  following: — 

"  On  the  part  of  the  canal  in  the  vicinity  of  Suez,  on  the  25th  of 
"  October  last,  a  violent  storm  produced  a  sudden  and  immense  tem- 
porary torrent,  which,  precipitating  itself  from  the  mountain  of 
"Attaka,  fell  into  the  canal,  carrying  with  it  a  very  large  mass  of 
"solid  material;  this  deposit,  thanks  to  the  activity  of  our  employes, 
"was  dredged  very  rapidly,  so  that  the  navigation  was  not  retarded  a 
"single  day,  but  this  unexpected  dredging  has  added  30,000  francs 
"to  the  expenses  of  the  canal." 

The  mean  annual  rainfall  at  Cairo,  less  than  100  miles  from  this 
locality,  is  one  and  three-tenths  of  an  inch.  At  Aspinwall,  the  mean 
annual  rainfall  is  124.25  inches;  during  the  month  of  November, 
1870,  there  was  a  rainfall  of  32.5  inches,  twenty-live  times  the  mean 
annual  rainfall  at  Cairo.  If  the  rainfall,  as  at  Aspinwall,  were  the 
normal  condition  along  the  line  of  the  Suez  Canal,  it  seems  altogether 
probable,  from  the  damage  and  expenses  caused  by  one  shower,  as 
quoted  above,  it  would  be  a  matter  for  serious  consideration,  whether 
it  would  not  be  economy  to  lock  up  sufficiently  high,  at  least,  to  avoid 
the  effects  of  the  surface  drainage.  Then,  if  to  the  debris  of  a  coun- 
try denuded  of  wood  were  added  the  trunks,  roots,  and  limbs  of 
trees,  it  would  be  a  still  more  serious  difficulty  to  •  get  rid  of  them 
also,  even  in  the  region  of  the  Suez  Canal,  one  of  small  water-sheds 
and  easy  slopes,  as  compared  with  any  part  of  inter-tropical  America. 

Referring  again  to  the  line  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal,  at  and  above 
the  mouth  of  the  River  San  Carlos,  it  leaves  the  bed  of  the  San  Juan 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  •  27 

River  on  its  left  bank,  and  follows  along  the  general  course  of  the 
river  for  a  distance  of  28.1  miles.  The  plans  provide  ample  culverts 
to  discharge  the  heavy  floods  from  the  adjacent  hills,  with  their  debris, 
into  the  San  Juan  River,  which  bears  it  along  until  it  reaches  a  point 
approximating  to  the  ocean  level,  where  the  dynamic  force  is  suffi- 
ciently weakened  to  allow  it  to  rest.  A  failure  to  provide  sufficiently 
for  the  surface  drainage,  in  a  country  subject  to  heavy  rainfalls,  and 
withal  of  steep  escarpments,  would  lead  eventually  either  to  the  aban- 
donment of  the  navigation  of  the  canal,  or  to  a  vastly  increased  ex- 
penditure, to  effect  what  could  have  been  done  at  far  less  cost  in  the 
construction  of  the  work. 

At  the  distance  of  28.1  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  San  Carlos 
River,  the  canal,  as  projected,  takes  a  direct  line  to  Greytown,  a  dis- 
tance of  14  miles,  passing  through  deep  cuts,  that  it  is  now  known 
can  be  avoided  with  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  estimate  for  labor. 
When  the  location  of  the  canal  was  made,  the  season  was  so  far 
advanced  that  it  did  not  allow  the  necessary  examination  to  be  made  to 
improve  this  part  of  the  canal  line  as  located.  Civil  Engineer  A.  G. 
Menocal,  U.  S.  Navy,  has  since  made  a  sufficient  examination  to 
assure  him  of  a  more  favorable  location,  with  a  probable  decrease  of 
the  estimate  for  construction  of  $3,000,000. 

A  summary  of  distances  and  estimates  of  cost  as  given  in  the 
Report  of  Civil  Engineer  Menocal  is  as  follows : — 

Western  Division. — From  Port  Brito  to  the 
Lake.  Distance,  16.33  miles;  estimated 
cost, $21,680,777.00 

Middle  Division. — Lake  Nicaragua.  Dis- 
tance, 56.50  miles;  estimated  cost,  .  715,658.00 

Eastern  Division. — From  Lake  to  Grey- 
town.  Distance,  108.43  miles;  esti- 
mated cost, 25,020,914.00 

Construction  of  Greytown  Harbor,    .         .        2,822,630.00 
Brito  "          .         .       2,337,739.00 


Total.     Distance,  181.26  miles;  cost,      .    $52,577,718.00 

The  expert  who  will  carefully  examine  the  items  and  estimated 
cost  as  shown  by  the  Report  and  plans  will  assure  himself  that  the 
object  was  to  present  fairly  and  in  detail  all  of  the  work  required,  and 
at  a  fair  estimate  of  cost. 


28  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  the  estimates  of  cost  and  actual 
cost  of  construction  have  diverged  so  widely  in  very  many  great 
works,  and  notably  with  the  Suez  Canal,  which  had  no  uncertain 
element  in  construction  except  the  drifting  of  the  loose  sands  of  the 
desert,  that  it  would  be  a  grave  error  not  to  recognize  this  fact.  Had 
such  been  the  case  with  the  Suez  Canal,  and  ample  provision  been 
made  to  carry  on  the  work  continuously,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  in 
the  time  gained  for  transit  of  vessels  and  consequent  income,  and  the 
avoidance  of  the  payment  of  interest  on  dormant  capital,  the  actual 
cost  of  the  canal  might  have  been  one-third  of  what  the  stock  and 
obligations  now  represent. 

A  true  economy,  therefore,  will  be  to  consider  the  cost  of  the  canal, 
including  the  interest  on  dormant  capital,  as  double  of  the  estimated 
€ost  of  construction,  in  round  numbers  at  $100,000,000. 

The  actual  line  of  the  transit,  181.3  miles,  is  far  greater  than  the 
distances  demanding  labor ;  thus,  to  enable  the  lake  to  be  navigated 
56.5  miles  involves  labor  only  on  a  few  thousand  yards,  at  the  incon- 
siderable cost  of  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars,  and 
the  river  navigation,  by  slack-water,  63.02  miles,  only  $8,679,253, 
which  includes  four  dams,  three  locks,  three  short  canals  around  the 
dams,  the  diversion  of  the  mouth  of  the  San  Carlos,  and  the  necessary 
blasting  and  dredging ;  in  short,  the  total  cost  over  the  distance  named. 
Thus,  actually  119.5  miles  of  transit  is  represented  by  an  estimate  of 
$9,394,911,  nearly  $1,000,000  less  than  the  estimated  cost  of  the 
feeder  and  its  adjuncts  of  a  canal  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  The 
cost  of  the  work  falls  really  on  the  58.23  miles  requiring  construc- 
tion, the  construction  of  seventeen  lift-locks  other  than  the  three 
above  named,  and  one  tide-lock,  and  the  construction  of  two  harbors. 

No  less  than  twelve  miles  of  the  58.23  referred  to  above,  as  entail- 
ing the  heavy  part  of  the  expense,  are  so  situated  as  to  allow  the 
work  to  be  done  by  machine  labor.  Between  Grey  town  and  the 
point  Avhere  the  projected  line  of  the  Canal  strikes  the  San  Juan 
River,  there  is  a  large  extent  of  alluvium,  there  being,  in  fact,  several 
ridges  of  hard  ground  very  favorably  situated  for  the  construction  of 
locks,  requiring  but  little  cost  for  foundations. 

The  line  of  Canal  being  accurately  marked,  a  rough  tramway  may 
be  constructed  on  each  bank,  with  foundations  made  of  the  felled 
trees  and  their  roots,  capable  of  sustaining  and  carrying  along  heavy 
derricks,  and  steam  power  to  fell,  cut  up,  lift,  and  deposit,  first  the 
trunks  and  limbs,  and  then  pull  out  and  put  in  place  the  stumps  of 
trees,  in  the  best  manner  to  strengthen  the  embankments.  Dredging 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  29 

machines  can  then  follow,  cutting  their  own  channel,  and  deposit  at 
once  the  soil  to  form  the  embankments.  Should  trunks  of  trees  be 
found  embedded,  our  Red  River  and  other  similar  experience  will 
enable  the  work  still  to  proceed  without  material  delay,  or  a  very  large 
increase  in  cost  of  labor. 

This  mode  of  procedure  could  be  practiced  also  over  nearly  two 
miles  on  the  west  coast,  leaving  only  about  fourteen  and  a  half  miles 
on  that  section  where  the  plow,  scraper,  and  pickaxe  would  have  to  do 
the  work. 

The  Government  of  Nicaragua  is  now  engaged  in  blasting  and 
removing  rock  from  the  channel  of  the  San  Juan  River  to  improve 
its  navigation  for  small  vessels,  employing  the  methods  and  appli- 
ances of  Civil  Engineer  Menocal  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  two  dollars 
and  a  half  per  cubic  yard,  which  is  one-half  of  the  estimate  made  by 
him  for  that  work ;  as  the  depth  increases,  doubtless  the  cost  of  exca- 
vation will  also,  but  certainly  not  beyond  the  estimate  on  that  part  of 
the  projected  canal. 

In  relation  to  the  formation  of  the  harbors. — The  Dutch  as  a 
people  have  done  so  much  in  constructing  dykes  and  harbors,  that 
their  processes  may  be  carefully  considered  if  not  adopted.  Bamboos 
of  large  growth  in  any  quantity  are  close  at  hand,  which  from  their 
length  and  toughness  may  be  an  admirable  substitute  for  small  wood 
growths,  so  far  as  mattrasses  are  concerned.  Abundant  stone,  sand, 
and  a  superior  lime  are  near  at  hand  on  the  San  Juan,  permitting  a 
free  choice  of  material  in  the  formation  of  the  harbor. 

There  is  a  well-established  fact  which  1  shall  mention,  as  it  seems 
to  have  a  practical  relation  in  connection  with  contours  or  facings  of 
artificial  harbors.  This  fact  was  observed  by  the  late  Rear- Admiral 
Davis  and  Professor  De  Sor,  on  Cape  Cod,  where  the  flood-tide 
"  divides,"  one  part  setting  north,  the  other  south :  the  debris  of  a 
vessel  wrecked  were  invariably  found  in  the  direction  the  flood-tide  set; 
also,  it  was  found  that  when  coal  vessels  were  wrecked  on  the  south 
side  of  Nantucket  Island,  the  coal  was  transported  east,  and  then 
north,  and  deposited  inside, the  hook  at  Great  Point,  this  being,  too, 
the  course  of  the  flood-tide. 

There  is  no  engineering  difficujty  in  the  construction  of  this  work ; 
with  the  exception  of  the  uncertainty  as  to  cost  of  the  harbors,  and 
the  probability  of  finding  buried  trees  in  the  excavation  of  the  allu- 
vium, there  seems  to  be  no  likelihood  of  contingencies  arising  which 
would  materially  increase  the  cost  of  the  construction  above  the 
estimates  on  any  part  of  the  projected  line  of  the  inter-oceanic  ship 


30  THE  AMERICAN  INTER- OCEANIC 

canal.     I  shall  have  occasion,  on  referring  to  other  proposed  routes, 
to  point  out  a  marked  difference  in  this  respect. 

The  surveys  and  location  of  the  Panama  route  for  an  inter-oceanic 
ship  canal  were  also  made  by  Com.  E.  P.  Lull,  assisted  by  Civil 
Engineer  A.  G.  Menocal,  U.  S.  N.,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  young 
navy  officers  to  carry  on  the  work  vigorously,  which  was  begun  in 
January,  1875.  An  actual  location  was  made  along  its  entire  length, 
and  calculations  also  of  approximate  cost  on  a  common  basis  with 
those  made  of  the  Nicaragua  route  by  the  same  officers.  The  esti- 
mates and  all  information  published  appear  in  the  Appendix  to  the 
Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  1875 ;  the  plans,  etc.,  were 
made  as  fully  as  those  of  the  Nicaragua  survey,  but  owing  to  a 
failure  of  an  appropriation  by  Congress  for  that  purpose,  have  not 
been  published. 

The  length  of  canalization  required  is  41.7  miles;  a  viaduct  is 
necessary  over  the  Chagres  River,  of  1900  feet  in  length,  the  surface- 
water  in  which  would  form  the  summit-level  123.75  feet  above  the 
mean  (half)  tides  of  the  oceans.  Twelve  lift-locks  on  each  side  and 
one  tide-lock  on  the  Pacific  side  are  required,  twenty-five  in  all,  being 
four  in  excess  of  the  Nicaragua  route.  A  feeder  and  adjuncts  are 
required  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $10,366,959,  which,  as  before  stated, 
is  $972,048  greater  than  the  estimated  cost  of  the  whole  distance 
improved  and  not  canalized  on  the  Nicaragua  route,  a  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  nineteen  and  a  half  miles.  In  this  connection,  it 
will  be  remembered  that  the  Nicaragua  route  requires  no  feeder. 

The  total  estimated  cost  of  the  canal  by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  is 
$94,511,360,  in  round  numbers  double  that  of  Nicaragua. 

The  level  of  the  highest  water-mark  apparent  at  the  point  pro- 
posed for  the  construction  of  the  viaduct  was  found  to  be  seventy- 
eight  feet  above  mean  (half)  tide.  As  the  ordinary  elevation  of 
water  at  the  same  point  is  only  forty-two  feet  above  the  same  level, 
this  great  rise,  thirty-six  feet,  known  to  have  taken  place  in  six  or 
eight  hours,  would  cause  serious  apprehension  at  times  for  the  safety 
of  the  viaduct. 

The  water  supply  that  year,  1875,  was  supposed  to  be  ample,  and 
it  was  stated  that  the  water  was  unusually  low.  In  the  month  of 
April  of  this  year,  Civil  Engineer  Menocal,  from  personal  observa- 
tion of  the  Chagres  River,  regarded  the  water  supply  as  inadequate; 
the  volume  of  water  was  in  fact  reduced  at  that  time  to  a  mere  rivulet. 
This  deficiency  of  water  may  be  regarded  as  of  rare  occurrence,  and 
at  a  fixed  period  of  the  year,  and  could  be  ameliorated,  if  not  obviated, 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  31 

by  the  construction  of  extensive,  and  no  doubt  expensive,  reservoirs 
on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Chagres. 

The  most  serious  defect  of  this  route  is  shown  in  the  Report  of 
Oommander  Lull,  as  follows:  "Large  vessels,  of  eighteen  feet  draught 
"  and  over,  of  which,  as  I  believe,  there  will  be  very  few  in  the  future, 
'"  would  have  to  Avait  for  a  favorable  stage  of  the  tide,  to  enter  or  leave 
"the  canal,  making  a  delay,  in  extreme  cases,  of  from  five  to  six 
"  hours.  The  enormous  cost  of  giving  a  deeper  channel  we  regard  as 
"a  worse  evil  than  any  small  delays  to  ships  in  passing/' 

Oommander  Lull  sums  up  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
the  Panama  route  as  follows :  "  The  advantages  of  this  line  are :  an 
"  ample  water  supply ;  an  open  cut,  with  but  a  moderate  depth  of 
"  excavation ;  a  comparatively  short  distance  from  sea  to  sea ;  fair  har- 
"  bors  on  either  side ;  the  proximity  of  a  well-constructed  railroad ;  the 
"  established  communication  with  the  principal  ports  of  the  world ;  the 
"absence  of  high  winds;  and,  in  common  with  the  whole  isthmus, 
"the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  salubrity  of  its  climate  during  the 
"dry  season. 

"The  disadvantages  are:  the  large  annual  rainfall;  the  want  of 
"material  for  construction  purposes;  the  character  of  some  of  the 
"  swamp  lands  in  certain  periods  of  the  line ;  the  amount  of  tunneling 
" required  in  the  feeder;  the  necessity  of  a  viaduct;  the  prevailing 
"calms  of  Panama  Bay,  causing  tedious  delays  to  sailing  vessels; 
"  and,  finally,  as  compared  with  more  northern  lines,  the  greater  dis- 
"tance  of  Panama  from  the  west  coast  of  the  United  States. " 

The  want  of  material  for  construction  purposes  enumerated 
among  the  disadvantages  would  lead  to  heavy  expenditures  in  cost 
and  transportation,  as  compared  with  the  Nicaragua  route,  where 
abundant  material  of  all  kinds  is  found  convenient  to,  if  not  on,  the 
projected  line.  Owing  to  the  great  prevalence  of  rain  and  the  lack 
of  material  at  hand,  it  is  probable  that  the  actual  cost  of  construction 
would  exceed  fifty  per  cent,  for  a  given  amount  of  work  as  compared 
with  the  Nicaragua  route. 

The  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  as  located  requires  a 
"summit  cut"  of  4.81  miles  in  length  and  an  average  depth  of  cut- 
ting of  76  feet  above  the  proposed  water-surface  of  the  canal,  which 
would  make  a  cut  of  102  feet  necessary  to  ensure  the  passage  of 
vessels  of  24  feet  draught. 

The  liability  to  landslides  in  this  deep  cut  would  be  very  great, 
as  is  the  case  along  the  line  of  the  Panama  Railroad,  necessitating 
a  slope  probably  of  two  to  one ;  and  of  course,  in  making  the  exca- 


32  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

vations,  requiring  the  considerable  expense  of  removing  the  material 
to  a  place  of  deposit.  With  all  of  these  grave  disadvantages,  it  may 
be  admitted  that  the  Panama  route  should  be  regarded  as  practicable, 
did  not  a  better  one  exist.  It  is,  at  least,  far  superior  in  practicability 
to  any  line  lying  south  of  it. 

In  relation  to  other  actual  locations  made  for  the  construction  of 
an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  what  is  known  as  the  Atrato-Napipi 
route  was  surveyed  by  Commander  T.  O.  Sel fridge,  IT.  S.  N.  More 
detailed  and  specific  locations  were  made  throughout  its  length  by 
Lieut.  Frederick  Collins,  U.  S.  N.,  in  1875. 

A  careful  examination  of  their  reports  will  reveal  very  great  diffi- 
culties to  be  overcome,  and  the  doubtful  results  practically  attainable, 
on  a  common  estimate  of  labor  and  cost  of  execution,  with  what 
relates  to  the  two  routes  already  summarized;  namely,  the  Nicaragua 
route  and  the  Panama  route. 

The  reports  and  location  of  two  routes,  by  Lieut.  Wyse,  of  the 
French  Navy,  indicate  the  existence  of  the  same  grave  difficulties  in 
exaggerated  dimensions  that  belong  to  the  Atrato-Napipi  route. 
Of  the  two,  he  prefers  what  may  be  designated  the  Tuyra-Tupisa- 
Tiati-Acanti  route,  which,  by  the  employment  of  a  tunnel,  the  length 
of  which  is  still  uncertain,  is  projected  as  a  canal  without  locks;  con- 
sequently the  sea-level  will  represent  the  surface-level  of  the  canal, 
except  the  additional  elevation  due  to  the  surface-drainage  Avhich  the 
canal  must  inexorably  take. 

I  will  state,  briefly,  the  physical  conditions  and  the  methods  pro- 
posed by  Lieut.  Wyse  to  overcome  the  very  many  grave  difficulties 
which  the  projected  line  of  ship  canal  presents. 

The  first  section  of  the  projected  canal  consists  in  deepening  the 
channel-way,  where  necessaiy,  of  the  Tuyra  River,  which  falls  into 
the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel,  and  through  the  improvement  of  which  the 
river  is  intended  to  be  made  navigable  to  the  commencement  of  the 
second  section. 

The  second  section  is  a  cut  from  the  Tuyra  River,  east  in  direc- 
tion, to  the  junction  of  the  Chucunaque  and  Tupisa  rivers.  This 
cut  is  intended  to  take  the  entire  discharge  of  those  two  rivers, 
whose  water-sheds,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained  from  the  maps,  is 
approximately  1200  marine  miles.  Taking  the  estimated  amount 
of  excavation  and  length  given,  16,200  metres  (10.06  miles),  gives  a 
cross  section  of  705  metres  as  the  mean,  and  the  capacity  to  dis- 
charge, with  full  banks,  the  waters  of  the  Chucunaque  and  Tupisa 
rivers.  It  will  be  shown,  hereafter,  how  inadequate  this  prism 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  33 

would  be  to  this  discharge,  with  a  velocity  of  water  that  would  admit 
of  navigation,  during  the  period  of  floods  at  least,  which  is  more  than 
half  of  the  year.  In  the  absence  of  more  specific  information  as  to 
the  volume  of  water  in  periods  of  floods  of  the  Chucunaque,  a  quota- 
tion is  made  from  page  135  of  the  Report  of  Commander  Selfridge : 
"  At  one  place,  where  the  banks  are  about  twenty  feet  high,  we  noticed 
"  large  trees,  thirty  inches  in  diameter,  lodged  at  least  thirty  feet 
"  above  the  ground,  showing  the  great  power  and  extent  of  the  floods 
"  during  the  rainy  season." 

The  point  at  which  this  observation  was  made  is  on  the  Chucun- 
aque, some  twenty  or  twenty-five  miles  in  a  direct  line  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Tupisa,  at  which  point  the  canal  crosses  the  mouth  of 
the  Chucunaque.  It  is  proposed  across  the  mouth  of  the  last-named 
river  to  erect  a  strong  grillage,  supported  by  abutments  of  masonry, 
to  protect  the  canal  from  the  floating  debris.  It  is  stated  that  this 
device  will  permit  the  waters  to  flow,  and  will  arrest  the  trees,  etc. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  strong  grillage  would  inevitably  form  a  dam 
through  the  lodgment  of  drift-wood,  and  bank  up  the  waters  suf- 
ficiently either  to  cut  channels  around  the  grillage,  or,  if  restrained 
sufficiently,  that  the  waters  would  reach  such  a  height  as  to  carry  away 
whatever  opposed  their  free  flow. 

There  are  other  grave  difficulties  in  the  proposed  treatment  of  the 
second  section  which  will  be  apparent  to  any  one  who  will  examine 
the  Reports  referred  to.  I  will  confine  myself  to  expressing  dissent  to 
the  supposition  that  the  debris  brought  down  by  the  Chucunaque 
need  give  no  concern,  as  the  strong  tides  would  bear  it  away  and 
deposit  it  where  it  would  do  no  harm.  Yet  the  reader  of  the  Report 
will  remark  that  dredging  the  bed  of  the  river  to  a  considerable 
extent  on  the  first  section  is  a  part  of  the  plan.  In  general,  engineers 
will  agree  in  the  entire  probability  that  dredging  the  bed  of  a  running 
stream  may  be  regarded  as  simply  increasing  the  depth  temporarily, 
and  no  longer  in  fact  than  the  recurrence  of  floods  such  as  formed  the 
original  deposit. 

The  third  section  is  11,400  metres  (7.08  miles)  in  length.  The 
projected  work  is  to  cut  off  the  sinuosities  of  the  Tupisa  River,  and 
deepen  it  sufficiently  below  the  ocean-level  to  secure  the  passage  of 
vessels  of  great  draught.  This  is  supposed  to  involve  no  difficulty ; 
whatever  obstacle  is  presumed  to  exist  from  the  discharge  of  debris 
from  ravines  is  to  be  met  by  the  excavation  of  pockets  at  their 
3 


34  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

mouths,  and  through  the  construction  of  grillages  to  protect  the  canal 
from  drift-wood. 

The  total  amount  of  material  to  be  excavated  and  removed  is  stated 
to  be  9,760,000  cubic  metres,  500,000  of  which  is  supposed  to  be 
rock.  This  mass  is  to  be  excavated  and  transported  somewhere, — a 
most  difficult  matter  in  the  execution  of  the  work,  when  it  is  re- 
membered that  it  includes  excavating  and  removing  half  a  million 
metres  of  rocks  below  the  sea-level. 

The  fourth  section,  as  projected,  leaves  the  bed  of  the  Tupisa  River 
and  extends  to  the  entrance  of  the  projected  tunnel;  it  is  17,000 
metres  in  length  (10.56  miles),  and  has  a  mean  depth  of  excavation  of 
33  metres  (108.26  feet),  including  the  part  designed  to  be  below  the 
surface-level  of  the  ocean.  It  is  stated  that  the  upper  layer  is  vege- 
table detritus  two  or  three  metres  thick,  then  a  layer  of  six  or  seven 
metres  of  clay,  overlying  rock,  easily  excavated  with  the  pickaxe  to 
a  mean  depth  of  23  metres  (90.5  feet).  It  is  assumed  that  this  rock 
can  be  excavated  and  removed  at  $1.20  per  cubic  metre ;  this  sum 
is  one-fifth  the  amount  estimated  for  rock  excavation  in  the  bed  of 
the  San  Juan  River,  in  Nicaragua,  where  no  difficulty  exists  in 
depositing  the  material  when  excavated.  It  is  obvious  that  all  of 
this  material,  composed  of  vegetable  mold,  clay,  and  rock,  has  either 
to  be  hauled  up  and  placed  far  back  of  the  escarpment,  to  prevent 
its  washing  in  again,  as  much  as  possible ;  or  it  has  to  be  removed 
on  the  sections  of  the  canal  previously  constructed,  through  the 
section  from  the  point  of  excavation,  and  through  the  completed 
section,  a  mean  distance  of  twelve  miles ;  and  even  then,  no  dumping- 
ground  exists  nearer  than  the  ocean,  without  at  least  rehandling  the 
whole  mass. 

Page  95  of  the  first  Report  states  that  the  bottom  of  the  canal  in 
sections  2,  3,  and  4  will  form  an  inclined  plane  equal  to  4.75  inches  to 
the  statute  mile.  This  inclined  plane  would,  it  is  stated,  make  the 
tide  from  the  Pacific  almost  nominal  at  the  western  end  of  the  tunnel. 
Taking  the  distance  from  the  beginning  of  the  second  section  to  the 
end  of  the  fourth,  and  the  proposed  rise^  ,and  adding  thereto  the  same 
incline  from  the  head  of  Darien  Harbor  for  the  corresponding  dis- 
tance per  chart,  would  make  the  total  rise  of  the  bottom  five  and  six- 
tenths  metres  (18.37  feet);  with  this  grade  there  seems  to  be  no  reason 
why  the  spring  tides  should  not  continue  on  through  the  tunnel  into 
the  Atlantic. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  35 

No  depth  of  water  is  given  for  sections  3  and  4,  but  certainly  it  is 
designed  that  it  shall  be  sufficient  to  float  a  vessel  of  heavy  draught 
at  full  tide  at  least.  If  the  tide  is  to  cease  at  the  entrance  of  the 
tunnel,  it  would  seem  that  this  could  only  be  eifected  by  a  tide-lock 
(which  is  not  proposed),  or  by  increasing  the  incline  or  grade  so  that 
the  bottom  of  the  canal  at  the  entrance  to  the  tunnel  would  cut  the 
plane  of  the  high  water  at  that  point,  or  that  the  water  in  the  canal 
below  should  be  sufficiently  shoal  to  retard  the  flow  of  the  tide,  in 
which  cases,  whether  sufficient  or  insufficient  for  vessels  to  pass,  the 
surface-drainage  would  represent  the  actual  depth  of  the  canal  at  this 
point  at  full  tide. 

The  extreme  tides  at  Chepigana  are  given  by  Commander  Selfridge 
at  about  24  feet,  and  by  Lieut.  Wyse  at  about  25  feet,  with  a  very 
considerable  difference  in  the  height  of  the  neap  tides.  These  differ- 
ences in  height  would  be  necessarily  continuous  above,  as  far  as  the 
deepened  and  straightened  channel  permitted,  and  the  deepening  and 
straightening  of  the  channels  of  these  streams  sufficiently  to  permit 
navigation  would  certainly  enable  the  tide  to  have  a  free  flow. 

The  inclined  plane  of  the  excavation  as  proposed — 4.75  inches  per 
statute  mile — would  give  the  width  and  depth  necessary  for  a  ship 
canal,  a  current  of  not  less  than  2.2  miles  per  hour.,  The  tidal  action 
under  normal  conditions  of  water-flow  would  increase  this  current 
greatly,  and  when  floods  would  occur  we  may  well  suppose  that  in 
earth  excavations  the  scouring  effect  would  be  very  great,  destroying 
in  a  great  degree  the  excavated  grade,  and  depositing  the  material 
where  it  may  or  may  not  obstruct  or  entirely  bar  the  passage  through 
the  canal  to  vessels  of  heavy  draught. 

This  ship  canal,  as  projected,  presents  the  remarkable  condition  of 
inviting  and  receiving  the  surface-drainage,  without  the  interposition 
of  feeders,  being  itself  the  waste  weir  for  a  large  superfice  of  moun- 
tainous country  subject  to  extraordinary  rainfalls.  Imagine  the  effect 
on  this  canal-bed  when  a  sudden  rainfall  of  six  or  eight  inches  would 
make  these  mountain  ravines  actually  roaring  rivers,  which  in  the 
dry  season,  owing  to  the  rapid  fall,  are  almost  without  running 
water.* 

*  In  Washington,  June  10,  1876,  there  was  a  rainfall  of  2.03  inches  in  one  hour. 
July  3Oth,  of  the  same  year,  there  was  a  rainfall  of  4.12  inches  in  eight  hours  and  a  half. 
In  October  of  this  year  there  was  a  rainfall  of  4.44  inches  in  twelve  and  a  half  hours, 
nearly  all  of  which  fell  in  nine  and  a  half  hours.  The  mean  annual  rainfall  is  41.54 
inches.  In  1877,  it  was  52.59  inches.  At  Aspinwall,  mean  annual  rainfall  124.44 
inches;  in  1872,  170.16  inches. 


36  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

This  method  of  location  imposes  the  extraordinary  and  onerous 
condition  of  having  no  natural  dumping-ground  for  enormous  masses, 
such  as  the  excavations  proposed.  The  canal  itself  being  the  lowest 
level  short  of  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  renders  it  necessary  either  to 
rehandle  the  whole  mass,  or  to  transport  the  material  to  the  ocean. 
In  short,  to  make  the  excavation  is  a  small  part  of  the  integral  of 
cost,  the  transportation  of  the  material  being  in  fact  the  most  expense. 

The  fifth  section  is  a  projected  tunnel  36  metres  high  (118.1  feet), 
of  which  10  metres  (32.8  feet)  are  below  the  sea-level,  16  metres 
(52.49  feet)  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  20  metres  (65.6  feet)  at  the 
surface  or  ordinary,  or  rather  intended  water-level,  and  of  still  an 
uncertain  length  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  second  Keport. 
The  shorter  length  named  is  9300  metres  (5.78  miles),  and  the  longer 
18,500  metres  (11.49  miles),  almost  double  the  first  distance. 

How  this  tunnel  is  to  be  excavated  and  walled  ten  metres  (32.8 
feet)  below  the  sea-level  is  not  stated ;  if  not  excavated  and  walled 
in  water,  it  must  be  kept  free  from  water  by  means  of  pumps.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  enginery  of  the  world  could  not  be  placed  to 
effect  this  object,  during  the  construction  of  the  work.  The  whole 
region  tunneled  through  has  a  mean  elevation  of  hundreds  of  feet, 
and  peaks  of  more  than  two  thousand.  Beyond  a  doubt,  a  line  of 
tunnel  excavated  32.8  feet  below  the  ocean-level  would  uncover 
sources  of  water  of  great  power,  sufficient  to  wash  out  whatever  was 
within  the  tunnel  as  far  as  excavated.* 

*The  excavation  of  St.  Gothard  tunnel,  now  in  progress,  is  the  most  recent  develop- 
ment and  illustration  of  what  may  be  done  in  overcoming  difficulties.  The  following 
information  is  from  Johnson's  Cyclopaedia : — 

Length  of  tunnel,  14,900  metres;  terminations  Airolo  and  Goschenen,  respectively 
1145  and  1105  metres  above  the  sea-level.  The  centre  of  the  tunnel  is  to  be  1154.4 
metres  above  sea-level,  making  a  grade  of  one  metre  to  the  thousand  toward  Airolo  to  get 
rid  of  the  water ;  the  other  grade  is  5.82  to  the  thousand. 

On  the  high  Alps  the  rain  precipitation  is  small,  as  compared  with  the  Isthmus,  yet 
with  a  grade  of  i-iooo  for  drainage.  "The  work  has  been  frequently  impeded  by  the 
"  caving  in  of  the  rock,  and  by  the  irruption  of  the  water  from  fissures  in  the  strata." 
Imagine  the  increased  impediment  were  the  bottom  of  the  tunnel  32.8  feet  below  the 
surface-level  of  the  ocean. 

On  page  206  of  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  1875  wil1  be  found  the 
instructions  to  Commander  Lull,  in  relation  to  the  examination  for  tunneling  between 
the  Chepo  River  and  the  harbor  of  San  Bias.  Page  221  gives  the  deductions  of 
Commander  Lull,  and  a  rough  estimate  of  cost  of  tunnel. 

This  route  would,  in  fact,  require  inconsiderable  labor  or  difficulty  except  the  tunnel, 
which  would  be,  in  length,  little  more  than  one-half  that  of  the  greater  length  named  as 
possible  by  Lieutenant  Wyse,  on  his  projected  route. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  37 

In  the  opinion  of  the  ablest  engineers  to  whom  I  have  presented 
the  question,  it  is  impossible  to  make  an  approximate  estimate  of  the 
cost  of  tunnel,  as  conditioned  by  Lieutenant  Wyse,  of  the  time  neces- 
sary for  its  completion,  or  to  state  satisfactorily  any  known  methods 
which  could  ensure  the  execution  of  the  work. 

The  sixth  section  involves  a  length  of  10,000  metres  (6.21  miles), 
and  a  depth  of  cutting  of  25  metres  (83.33  feet),  including  an  intended 
depth  of  8.7  metres  (28.54  feet)  below  the  sea-level. 

At  this  end  of  the  canal  it  is  proposed  to  construct  a  harbor  which 
would  not  be  less  expensive  than  the  one  proposed  at  Brito,  on  the 
Nicaragua  route. 

Let  us  conceive  that  this  stupendous  work,  from  ocean  to  ocean,  is 
completed,  tunnel  and  all,  as  proposed.  As  shown  by  data,  a  rainfall 
of  six  inches,  in  as  many  hours,  is  not  at  all  unusual  in  that  region. 
Obviously,  from  the  shorter  distance  to  the  sea,  the  readiest  escape  of 
the  waters  of  the  Tupisa  Valley  would  be  through  the  tunnel.  We 
can  form  some  idea  of  the  relative  size  of  its  water-shed,  with  steep 
escarpments  to  its  excavated  bed ;  and  also  of  the  dimensions  of  the 
cross-section  of  the  tunnel,  which  is  the  continuation  of  the  artificial 
channel  of  the  Tupisa  towards  the  Atlantic. 

Within  an  hour  or  two  a  perfect  deluge  would  pour  down  the 
ravines  from  a  thousand  times  the  superfice  of  the  continuation  of 
the  Tupisa  channel ;  the  rush  of  waters  through  the  tunnel  would  be 
terrific, — sufficient,  probably,  to  destroy  almost  the  vestige  of  it. 

With  the  exception  of  the  surveys  of  Lieutenant  Wyse,  of  the 
French  Navy,  above  alluded  to,  all  of  the  routes  surveyed — indeed,  I 

A  tunnel  between  the  Chepo  and  San  Bias  Harbor  could  be  constructed  to  free  itself 
from  water  and  have,  probably,  a  sufficient  water  supply  from  the  Chepo,  rendering 
lockage  necessary  only  sufficiently  high  to  give  drainage  for  the  construction  of  the 
tunnel.  Commander  Lull  says,  "  The  line  bears  no  comparison  to  either  the  Nicaragua 
^'  route  or  that  of  Panama  as  developed." 

A  distinguished  officer  of  the  Engineer  Corps  of  our  army  informs  me  that  the  head 
room  of  the  tunnel,  as  proposed  (85.3  feet),  would  be  insufficient;  that  in  a  bridge  in 
our  country  135  feet  was  regarded  as  barely  sufficient. 

The  width  at  the  water  line  as  proposed  (65.6  feet)  is  little  more  than  the  actual  beam 
of  the  class  of  vessel  that  would  usually  be  employed,  say  a  beam  of  fifty  feet,  one-ninth 
the  length  of  a  vessel  of  450  feet.  This  would  leave  less  than  eight  feet  on  each  side, 
provided  that  the  vessel  was  pointed  absolutely  fair,  which  would  rarely  be  the  case ; 
the  slighest  deviation,  of  course,  would  throw  the  bow  of  the  vessel  on  one  side  and  the 
stern  on  the  other.  It  was  not  my  intention  to  object  to  the  size  of  the  tunnel,  from  the 
fact  that  it  could  not,  by  any  possibility,  be  constructed  as  a  paying  investment,  even 
though  it  be  admitted  possible  as  an  effort  of  the  engineer,  without  reference  to  cost.  If 
the  tunnel  is  to  be  made,  then  the  dimensions  should  undoubtedly  be  increased. 


38  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

may  say,  all  of  the  most  practicable  routes  which  exist — have  been 
carefully  examined  by  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  To  satisfy  the  wishes  of  the  Commission,  our 
Government  executed  the  survey  and  location  of  an  inter-oceanic 
ship  canal  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  The  Commission  was  com- 
posed of  the  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army  ;  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey;  and  the  Chief  of  Bureau  of 
Navigation,  U.  S.  Navy.  No  difference  of  opinon  existed  in  the 
Commission,  as  shown  by  their  Report  to  the  President,  which  in- 
dicated, in  a  marked  degree,  their  opinion  of  the  superiority  of  the 
Nicaragua  route  over  all  others.  The  recent  surveys  of  Lieutenant 
Wyse  have,  in  fact,  served  to  confirm  the  justice  of  the  conclusions  of 
the  Commission. 

The  question  then  at  issue  is,  Can  an  inter-oceanic  canal  be  con- 
structed with  advantage  to  its  constructors,  as  well  as  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  commerce  of  the  world  ?  The  points  between  which  the 
trade  would  naturally  pass  through  the  canal  are  shown  by  the  map. 

1.  Between  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Europe  and  America  and  the 
Pacific  coasts  of  this  continent. 

2.  Between  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Europe  and  America  and  Japan, 
Northern  China,  the  Philippine  and  Sandwich  Islands  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  and  the  eastern  coast  of  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and 
numerous  productive  islands  in  the  souther  hemisphere. 

The  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Statistics  has  kindly  furnished  me  with 
several  tables,  two  of  which  relate  to  the  tonnage  of  the  trade  that 
would  naturally  pass  through  this  canal  if  constructed.  Additional 
information  from  the  same  source  and  from  Owen  M.  Long,  Esq., 
U.  S.  Consul  at  Panama;  also  from  Mr.  P.  M.  McKeller,  U.  S. 
Vice-Consul  at  Valparaiso,  indicate  that  not  less  than  3,000,000  of 
tonnage,  British  and  our  own,  would  pass  through  the  canal  yearly, 
and  that  the  aggregate  of  the  other  commercial  powers  would  be  very 
large.  I  have  to  regret  that  my  statistical  information  was  received 
too  late  to  collate  it  properly  ;  its  publication  otherwise  would  simply 
lead  to  confusion.  A  glance,  however,  at  the  points  between  which 
the  trade  would  pass  through  the  canal  cannot  fail  to  be  as  satisfactory 
and  convincing  as  the  most  elaborate  and  accurate  tables. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION. 
TABLE  C. 


39 


TABLE   OF    DISTANCES    BETWEEN   CERTAIN    PORTS   VIA   CAPE   HORN, 
AND    VIA    NICARAGUA    CANAL. 


DISTANCES 

VIA, 
CAPE  HORN. 


VIA  CANAL.        DIFFERENCE. 


New  York  to  Valparaiso  '            8  720 

A.  626 

4  OQ4. 

Liverpool               "           !            Q  100 

7  ^26 

I  774. 

New  York  to  Callao  !          10  ooo 

•2  376 

6  ft  A  A 

Liverpool         "          i           10400 

6  026 

4  7  74. 

New  York  to  Honolulu                                              i  T.  c  T.O 

6  z  t^o 

6  980 

Liverpool             "           i          13,780 

UO:»IJ 

Q  ''OO 

4.  ,c8o 

New  York  to  San  Francisco                            '          13  610 

r  OIO 

8  600 

Liverpool                 "                                                    11  66^ 

7  600 

6065 

New  York  to  Yokohama                                              1  6  700 

Q  QOO 

6800 

New  York  to  Shanghai                                       i           14  'JOO 

JO  7OO 

4  200 

New  York  to  Hon°~  Ivono"                                            17  420 

TIC  f  O 

c  87O 

I  will  not  dilate  upon  the  saving  of  distances  shown  by  appended 
table,  and  other  information  contained  in  the  admirable  pamphlet 
of  Professor  J.  E.  bourse,  U.  S.  N.,  published  in  1869.  Its  title  is 
"  The  Maritime  Canal  of  Suez,  and  comparison  of  its  probable  results 
"with  a  Ship  Canal  across  this  Continent."  I  commend  it  to  all 
who  fee]  an  interest  in  this  great  question.  An  illustration  may  be 
given  of  the  saving  of  distance  from  this  port  to  San  Francisco.  Via 
Lake  Nicaragua  it  is  5,010  miles,  and  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan 
13,610 — a  saving  of  distance  of  8600  miles. 

A  point  worthy  of  mention  is,  that  were  it  possible  to  use  this 
canal  between  Atlantic  ports  and  those  of  the  Pacific  without  de- 
creasing the  distance  of  the  voyage,  the  advantage  of  its  construction 
would  still  be  apparent,  and  would  be  appreciated  by  all  intelligent 
navigators  on  account  of  the  favorable  winds  that  would  be  thereby 
obtained,  on  both  outward  and  homeward  voyages,  through  making 
very  slight  detours  to  effect  that  purpose,  the  canal  route  taking  the  place 
of  the  tempestuous  seas  of  Cape  Horn  and  its  vicinity,  and  in  their 
stead  giving  trade-winds  in  the  region  of  the  tropics,  and  westerly 
winds,  and  good  weather  usually,  in  the  higher  latitudes  adjacent  to 
that  region. 

A  work  of  such  magnitude  as  this  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  so  dis- 
tant from  the  money-centres  of  the  world,  requiring  a  considerable 
time  to  complete  it,  even  if  prosecuted  in  the  most  vigorous  manner, 
and  intended  to  serve  world-wide  interests,  could  without  doubt  best 
be  constructed  on  an  international  basis.  The  United  States  is  rela- 


40  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

tively  near  the  work,  and  has  a  twofold  interest — the  one  to  unite 
her  coasts  by  convenient  water  transportation,  the  other  of  external 
commerce  for  both  coasts,  and  especially  to  secure  to  the  west  coast  a 
European  market  for  its  average  crop  of  20,000,000  sacks  of  wheat. 

The  great  commercial  nations  may  fail  for  a  time  to  recognize  the 
full  importance  of  executing  this  great  work,  or  the  means  that  will 
best  forward  it,  but  sooner  or  later,  probably  in  the  near  future,  the 
intar-oceanic  ship  canal  via  Lake  Nicaragua  will  no  longer  be  a 
problem,  but  an  accomplished  fact. 

The  construction  of  this  work  on  an  international  basis  would 
mark  an  era  in  the  world's  progress;  it  would,  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  facilitate  the  commerce  of  the  world  between  the  most  distant 
points,  leaving  it  impossible  thereafter  to  make  any  work  which 
would  compare  with  it  in  practical  results. 

Its  construction  internationally  would  be  "  a  sign  and  token ;"  it 
would  show  that  modern  diplomacy  appreciated  the  possibility  of 
obtaining  mutual  and  common  advantages,  and  had  discarded  the 
fallacy  of  old  that  diplomacy  was  intended  for  and  only  useful  in 
what  might  be  truly  called  "'  sharp  practice."  Peoples  have  arrived 
at  that  intelligence  that  the  Government  of  a  nation  may,  in  its  re- 
lation to  another,  rather  seek  to  discover  and  promote  common  interests 
than  hope  to  obtain  and  maintain  mean  advantages. 

In  this  intelligent  view,  the  Government  and  people  of  Nicaragua 
have  hitherto  endeavored  to  bring  about  the  construction  of  the  inter- 
oceanic  ship  canal,  offering  to  our  Government  some  time  ago  ample 
powers  and  concessions  to  construct  it,  with  faculties  based  on  the 
broad  and  common  interests  of  the  world's  commerce.* 

This  enlightened  and  liberal  offer  was  not  responded  to  at  once, 
probably  because  it  was  deemed  proper  in  advance  to  ask  the  views 
and  co-operation  of  such  powers  as  might  feel  disposed  to  participate 
actively  in  the  construction  of  the  canal.  It  is  believed  that  all  of 
the  great  commercial  nations  have  been  invited  by  our  Government 
to  consider  the  subject,  and  to  express  fully  and  frankly  their  views 
in  relation  to  the  most  advantageous  manner  of  bringing  about  the 
construction  of  the  work. 

In  my  paper,  read  two  years  ago,  I  endeavored  to  show  that  our 
transcontinental  railroad  interests  would  doubtless  be  promoted 


~:<~  It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  same  views  were  entertained  by  Mr.  Peralta,  the  learned 
and  excellent  Minister  from  the  Government  of  Costa  Rica,  whose  territory  is  contiguous 
to,  and  forms  a  part  of,  the  boundary  with  Nicaragua,  along  the  San  Juan  River. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  41 

through  the  construction  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  and  also,  as 
a  whole,  that  it  would  probably  be  advantageous  to  the  Suez  Canal, 
forming  as  it  would  a  supplementary  chain  for  voyages  around  the 
world,  in  regions  of  good  weather  and  aided  by  fair  winds.  I  have 
reason  to  believe  that  this  same  opinion  is  entertained  by  those 
interested  in  that  great  work. 

It  seems  pertinent  on  this  occasion  to  acknowledge,  that  to  the  courage, 
devotion,  and  ability  of  cultured  officers  as  leaders,  to  Lieutenant 
Wyse,  of  the  French  Navy,  and  to  Commodore  Shufeldt,  Commanders 
Selfridge  and  Lull,  and  Lieutenant  Collins,  of  our  Navy,  and  to  their 
able  assistants  and  followers,  we  are  indebted  for  so  much  positive, 
substantial  information,  sufficient,  in  fact,  to  a  full  appreciation  of 
what  can  and  what  cannot  be  accomplished.  It  is  impossible  for  any 
one  having  no  personal  knowledge  of  the  Isthmus  to  appreciate  the 
difficulty  of  making  surveys  in  that  region.  It  is  not  in  the  power 
of  man  to  make  physical  conditions  ;  all  that  he  can  hope  to  do  is  to 
recognize  them,  weigh  them  properly,  profit  by  them  if  possible  to  do 
so,  and  let  them  alone  if  they  do  not  afford  an  advantage.  It  was  in 
this  spirit  that  the  recent  United  States  surveys  on  the  Isthmus  have 
been  prosecuted,  and  their  official  description  made. 

In  the  scope  of  a  reading  I  have  found  it  only  possible  to  indicate 
the  sources  from  whence  information  could  be  obtained.  I  shall 
furnish  tables  bearing  upon  the  subject,  and  give  to  the  Society  the 
results  of  my  personal  conclusions,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  the  reasons 
therefor. 

I  beg  to  return  thanks  to  our  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Joseph 
Nimmo,  Esq.,  to  Owen  M.  Long,  Esq.,  U.  S.  Consul  at  Panama,  and 
to  Mr.  P.  M.  McKeller,  Vice-Consul  at  Valparaiso,  for  their  valuable 
assistance,  and  to  this  audience  for  their  kind  and  patient  hearing 
of  what  I  have  had  to  say — far  short,  I  feel  sure,  of  what  this  great 
subject  would  permit. 


42  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 


THE    PRESENT    ASPECTS    OF    THE    INTER-OCEANIC 
SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION. 


Read  before  the  American  Geographical  Society,  December  9, 1879. 

[THE  FOOT-NOTES  WERE  NOT  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SOCIETY,  BEING 
RATHER  IN  THE  CHARACTER  OF  ILLUSTRATION  THAN  ARGUMENT.] 

I  am  indebted  to  a  prominent  'member  of  your  Society  for  the  sug- 
gestion that  I  should  continue  the  discussion  of  the  inter-oceanic 
question  under  its  auspices.  I  propose  for  your  examination,  "The 
present  aspect  of  the  American  inter-oceanic  canal  question." 

I  shall  not  tire  the  patience- of  my  hearers  by  an  attempted  history 
of  it;  those  who  are  desirous  to  inform  themselves  as  to  what  was 
known  and  what  was  asserted  prior  to  1866  can  do  so  by  reading  a 
Report  to  Congress  of  Rear- Admiral  Davis,  U.  S.  N.,  published  that 
year  under  the  title  of  "Inter-oceanic  Railroads  and  Canals,"  of 
course  referring  to  this  continent.  It  contains  from  pages  31  to  37 
the  authorities  cited, — a  large  amount  of  valuable  information  necessa- 
rily interspersed  with  much  that  is  wholly  unreliable  or  only  of  partial 
value.  The  elimination  of  mere  assertions  and  of  errors  has  added 
vastly  to  the  work  of  exploration  and  survey  since  that  time.  For  an 
outline  as  to  what  has  been  done  since  then,  I  may  refer  you  to  my 
paper  of  October  31,  1876,  and  a  second  read  November  15,  1878, 
before  your  Society. 

The  first  paper  was  designed  to  show  the  error  under  which  M. 
Drouillet,  French  engineer,  labored,  and  those  who  regarded  him  as 
an  authority,  in  a  pamphlet  issued  in  Paris  in  May,  1876,  apparently 
with  the  approval  of  the  Commercial  branch  of  the  Geographical 
Society.  It  was  designed  to  show  that  there  did  not  exist  unknown 
routes  comparable  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  to  those 
already  known.  The  second  paper  was  to  show  the  feasibility  of  a 
ship  canal  via  Nicarauga  as  a  commercial  question,  and  to  do  this  it 
seemed  to  me  necessary  to  establish  its  superiority  over  all  known 
points,  especially  as  to  economy  of  construction  and  permanency  of 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  43 

works,  from  less  liability  to  the  destructive  effects  of  floods  or  other 
probable  causes. 

In  the  month  of  March  last,  when  our  Government  thought  proper 
to  have  our  maps  and  plans  published, — the  results  of  close  instru- 
mental surveys  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  also  those  known  as 
the  Atrato-Napipi  route,  for  presentation  to  the  Congress  called  to 
assemble  at  Paris  on  the  1 5th  of  May, — it  was  supposed  desirable  that 
I  should  go  abroad  to  present  them,  with  such  other  surveys  as  had 
been  recently  made  under  its  orders. 

I  suggested  that  I  had  been  one  of  a  Commission  appointed  by  the 
President  on  the  13th  of  March,  1872,  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
into  and  reporting  upon  the  question  of  a  ship  canal  across  the  con- 
tinent, and  that  on  the  7th  of  February,  1876,  this  Commission  had 
made  its  reports  as  to  locality,  etc.,  which  had  been  acceptable  to  the 
Government.  It  seemed  to  me,  therefore,  that  some  other  person 
should  be  selected  to  attend  the  Congress.  A  second  objection  was 
that  the  selection  of  the  canal  route  was  eminently  a  question  for  the 
ablest  engineers  only,  and  those  of  the  highest  character,  to  settle.  I 
urged  further  that  Commander  E.  P.  Lull,  of  our  Navy,  who  had 
been  engaged  on  the  surveys  of  Caledonia  Bay  and  south  of  it,  and 
afterward  had  been  chief  of  the  parties  making  the  surveys  of  the 
Nicaragua  and  Panama  routes,  could  well  take  my  place,  as  he  had  a 
rare  judicial  capacity  which  would  enable  him  to  present  fairly  such 
work  as  he  had  done  in  comparison  with  the  surveys  made  under 
the  direction  of  other  officers. 

Notwithstanding  these  representations  made  by  me,  I  found  that 
the  Government  preferred  my  going  as  a  delegate,  when,  of  course,  I 
appreciated  fully  the  honor,  and  made  such  suggestions  as  seemed 
necessary  for  a  proper  discharge  of  the  duties  which  belonged  to  the 
position.  It  seemed  to  me  important  that  the  civil  engineer  who 
had  been  employed  on  both  the  Nicaragua  and  the  Panama  surveys,  and 
who  had  performed  his  duties  most  satisfactorily  to  the  officer,  con- 
ducting them,  should  go  also,  either  as  my  assistant  or  as  a  delegate, 
to  make  the  technical  development  of  the  routes.  The  suggestion 
was  carried  out,  and  I  may  add,  that  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  Civil 
Engineer  Menocal  performed  his  duties  with  entire  satisfaction  to  our 
Government. 

In  presenting  important  information  to  the  Congress, — the  results  of 
our  Government  surveys, — it  seemed  necessary  that  certain  ideas  con- 
nected therewith  should  be  expressed;  for  that  reason,  what  I  shall 


44  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

hereafter  call  my  address  to  the  Congress  was  prepared,  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  inspection  of  the  Department  of  our  Government  under 
whose  instructions  I  went  abroad. 

On  arriving  in  Paris  the  day  preceding  the  meeting  of  the  Con- 
gress, Mr.  Menocal  and  myself  lost  no  time  in  paying  our  respects 
to  M.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  too  widely  and  too  favorably  known 
to  require  further  comment,  unless  I  may  add,  that  then  and  on  all 
other  occasions  our  intercourse  was  in  all  respects  agreeable. 

On  the  morning  of  May  15th,  preceding  the  meeting  of  the  Con- 
gress, I  received  a  visit  from  M.  Blanchet,  an  agreeable  French  gen- 
tleman, who  had  been  to  Nicaragua  on  two  occasions  to  secure  a 
concession  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal,  and  indeed  had  one, 
which  last  March  was  rejected  by  their  Senate.  I  was  informed  by 
him  that  the  previous  evening  M.  de  Lesseps  had  either  caused  a 
meeting  to  be  held  or  an  agreement  entered  into  that  was  acceptable 
to  M.  Blanchet  and  to  the  party  in  the  Congress  who  would  support 
the  Panama  project.  My  understanding  of  this  was,  that  they  had 
agreed  to  permit  the  discussion  of  the  question  to  stand  on  its  merits, 
and  that  whichever  side  lost  the  vantage-ground  would  receive  some 
recompense  which  had  been  agreed  upon  in  advance.  Once,  at  least, 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Congress,  I  received  a  visit  from  M.  Blanchet, 
who  seemed  to  be  very  much  excited  about  the  question,  and  to  think 
I  should  be  also.  I  told  him  that  the  decision  of  the  Congress  was 
no  concern  of  mine ;  that  my  duties  would  be  discharged  by  making 
a  fair  and  full  presentation  of  all  of  the  information  in  the  possession 
of  our  Government,  which  was,  in  fact,  the  object  of  my  being  in 
Paris.  After  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress,  previous  to  my 
leaving,  I  received  another  visit  from  M.  Blanchet,  who  informed  me, 
or  at  least  conveyed  the  impression,  that  his  opponents  had  acted  in 

bad  faith  with  him. 

• 

On  the  meeting  of  the  Congress  on  May  15th,  an  immediate  organi- 
zation was  eifected,  M.  de  Lesseps,  President,  and  five  Vice-Presidents. 
The  names  of  the  members  of  the  different  Commissions  were  called, 
numbered  as  follow:  1st,  Statistics;  2d,  Economic  and  Commercial; 
3d,  Navigation;  4th,  Technical;  5th,  Ways  and  Means. 

After  naming  the  members  of  the  Commissions,  M.  de  Lesseps 
remarked  in  a  jocular  manner  that  our  work  was  all  cut  out,  that  many 
of  the  delegates  were  anxious  to  get  home,  and  that  we  could  carry 
the  work  through  a  VAmericciine,  which  may  be  translated,  with  a 
rush.  The  full  meeting  of  the  Congress  was  then  adjourned  until 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  45 

the  19th,  the  Commissions  to  meet  at  9  o'clock  on  the  following 
morning. 

Owing  to  the  non-arrival  of  our  heavy  package  of  books,  maps,  etc.,. 
I  was  not  able  to  present  them  the  next  day  as  desired,  but  did  so  on 
the  morning  of  the  17th  to  the  technical  Commission.  On  the  pre- 
sentation, I  stated  that  I  would  have  my  remarks  printed  in  French 
and  English.  The  following  day  copies  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
Secretary  for  distribution  to  such  persons  as  wished  them.  The 
address  was  as  follows : — 

GENTLEMEN  : — The  Government  of  the  United  States  has  conferred 
the  honor  upon  me  of  presenting  for  the  consideration  of  this  learned 
and  distinguished  body  the  different  surveys  recently  executed  by  ite 
order,  a  part  of  them  published  only  within  the  past  month.  In 
their  order,  from  the  north  to  the  south,  they  are  as  follows : — 

1.  The  survey  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  by  R.  T.  Shufeldt, 
now  Commodore,  U.  S.  Navy. 

2.  The   survey  of  what  is  known  as  the  "Nicaragua  route/'  an 
actual  location  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  with  several  tentative 
lines,  by  Commander  E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  Navy,  assisted   by   Civil 
Engineer  A.  G.  Menocal,  U.  S.  Navy. 

3.  The  survey  of  what  is  known  as  the  "  Panama  route,"  an  actual 
location    of  an    inter-oceanic    ship   canal    between    Aspinwall    and 
Panama,  including  feeder,  etc. 

4.  The  Report  of  the  surveys  made  by  Commander  T.  O.  Selfridge,, 
U.  S.  Navy,  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  San  Bias  on  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Bayamo  or  Chepo  River  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  the  mouth  of 
the  River  Atrato  on  the  Atlantic,  to  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  involving  many  tentative  lines,  and  thence  following  up 
the  River  Atrato  150  miles,  and  from  thence  up  the  valley  of  the 
River  Napipi,  known  as  the  Atrato-Napipi  route,  and  terminating  on 
the  Pacific  coast  at  Chiri-chiri. 

5.  An  actual  line  of  location  for  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  of 
what  is  known  as  the  Atrato-Napipi  route,  terminating  as  before  at 
Chiri-chiri,  by  Lieut.  Frederick  Collins,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Maps,  plans,  and  calculations  for  material  and  labor  on  a  common 
basis  of  cost  are  made  for  the  "Nicaragua,"  "Panama,"  and  "Atrato- 
Napipi  "  routes  as  located,  affording  a  ready  means  of  finally  consider- 
ing the  relative  cost  of  executing  the  work  on  the  several  routes. 


46  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

On  the  13th  March,  1872,  the  President  of  the  United  States 
appointed  a  Commission,  whose  duties  were  "  to  examine  and  consider 
"  all  surveys,  plans,  proposals,  or  suggestions  of  routes  of  communi- 
"  cation  by  canal  or  water  communications  between  the  Atlantic  and 
"  Pacific  oceans  across,  over,  or  near  the  Isthmus,  connecting  North 
"  and  South  America,  which  have  already  been  submitted  or  which 
"may  hereafter  be  submitted  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
"  during  the  pendency  of  this  appointment,  or  which  may  be  referred 
"to  them  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  report  in 
"  writing  their  conclusions  and  the  result  of  such  examination  to  the 
"  President  of  the  United  States,  with  their  opinion  as  to  the  possible 
"  cost  and  practicability  of  each  route  or  plan,  and  such  other  matter 
"  in  connection  therewith  as  they  may  think  proper  and  pertinent." 

A  final  Keport  was  made  by  this  Commission  on  the  7th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1876,  copies  of  which  are  furnished  for  the  consideration  of 
this  Congress.  It  was  composed  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S. 
Army,  the  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey,  and  the 
Chief  of  Bureau  of  Navigation,  U.  S.  Navy.  It  held  its  sittings  at 
various  times,  and  considered  all  of  the  information  then  existing,  and 
concluded  that  the  various  surveys  and  reconnoissance  extending  over 
the  wide  region  involved  were  sufficient  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion, 
except  in  the  region  lying  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Panama  Railroad ;  it 
therefore  requested  the  Government  to  have  a  survey  made  and  an 
actual  line  of  location  for  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal  on  the  best 
route  found  practicable  in  that  region,  which  was  done  without  delay. 
The  Government,  at  the  same  time,  thought  it  advisable  to  have  a 
more  thorough  examination  and  actual  location  made  along  the  entire 
length  of  what  is  known  as  the  Atrato-Napipi  route.  After  a  careful 
study  of  these  surveys,  maps,  plans,  and  estimates,  in  addition  to  the 
information  which  was  previously  before  it,  the  Commission  made  its 
final  Report,  before  alluded  to. 

In  the  consideration  of  a  great  work,  such  as  the  construction  of  a 
ship  canal  across  the  American  continent,  we  may  well  suppose  that 
its  permanency  should  be  regarded  as  important  as  the  selection  of 
the  route  itself,  involving  the  least  cost  of  construction  with  the  mini- 
mum of  problems  of  doubtful  cost  in  the  execution  of  the  work. 
With  these  points  assured,  the  question  becomes  fairly  debatable 
whether  the  physical  conditions  are  to  be  considered  too  formidable  to 
admit  of  the  execution  of  the  work  as  a  commercial  or  monetary 
question — in  fact,  whether  a  grand  idea  for  the  amelioration  of  the 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  47 

great  commerce  of  the  world  can  be  put  in  execution,  or  perforce 
abandoned,  through  the  existence  of  obstacles  too  formidable  in  their 
nature  to  admit  of  an  endeavor  to  overcome  them. 

Should  it  be  considered,  after  a  careful  and  minute  examination  of 
the  question,  that  a  commercial  or  monetary  success  is  practicable  in 
the  construction  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  whatever  error  may 
obtain  through  the  selection  of  an  inferior  route  through  a  misappre- 
hension of  conditions  of  permanency,  or  of  first  cost  of  construction 
in  the  location  of  the  ship  canal  would  work  a  double  injury,  in  the 
failure  to  yield  a  proper  dividend,  by  reason  of  an  unexpected  and 
extraordinary  cost  in  construction,  or  constant  demands  for  heavy 
expenditures  in  the  endeavor  to  keep  the  canal  navigable,  and  in  the 
probable  imposition  of  tolls,  which  would  tend  to  drive  away  or  fail 
to  secure  a  considerable  part  of  the  tonnage  which  should  naturally 
pass  through  it,  and  which  would  make  the  ship  canal  appear  rather 
as  an  obstructor  than  the  promoter  of  a  world-wide  commerce.  I  feel 
sure  that  these  considerations  will  have  weight  in  the  mind  of  our 
distinguished  President,  at  whose  call  this  assemblage  has  met,  to 
whose  genius  and  indomitable  energy  are  due  the  inception  and  the 
completion  of  the  Suez  Canal. 

I  shall  leave  to  my  able  associate,  Civil  Engineer  A.  G.  Menocal, 
IT.  S.  Navy,  a  minute  presentation  of  the  surveys  upon  which  he  was 
engaged;  namely,  what  are  known  respectively  as  the  "Nicaragua" 
and  the  "  Panama  "  routes.  His  note-books  and  other  data  will  show 
that  the  plans  and  estimates  are  based  upon  substantial  and  sufficient 
information. 

There  are  certain  comparative  conditions  affecting  the  execution  of 
the  work  on  the  three  different  lines  upon  which  we  give  maps,  plans, 
and  estimates,  which  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  in  the  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  of  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal. 

NICARAGUA  EOUTE. 

The  rainfall  is  comparatively  small.  Our  observations  at  Lake 
Nicaragua,  extending  over  one  year,  show  an  annual  rainfall  of 
48  inches,  or  1.22  metres.  [More  extended  observations  give  a 
mean  annual  rain  fall  at  Castillo  83  inches,  and  at  Granada  55 
inches].  There  is  a  distinct  dry  season  of  between  five  and  six 
months,  when  work  in  progress  would  not  be  delayed  or  injured,  and 
but  little  interruption  need  be  apprehended  in  the  rainy  season  on 


48  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

that  section  of  the  canal  between  the  Lake  and  the  Pacific,,  as  the  rain- 
generally  falls  at  night,  with  occasional  showers  during  the  day. 

There  is  abundant  good  stone,  hydraulic  and  other  lime,,  wood,  and 
bamboos,  which  latter  may  be  found  very  advantageous  in  the  con- 
struction of  harbors. 

There  is  a  considerable  population,  well  disposed,  and  when  they 
can  have  remunerative  employment,  fairly  industrious*  The  country 
has  an  abundant  cattle  supply  of  good  quality  for  foodr  and  other 
productions  which  would  furnish  the  main  subsistence  for  laborers  on 
the  canal,  with  a  convenient  water  transportation  in  general  along  the 
line  of  ship  canal  as  located,  and  lake  communication  with  an  exten- 
sive population  and  fertile  region.  This  water  communication  can  be 
greatly  increased  by  the  construction  of  a  six-foot  canal  to  Lake 
Managua,  at  an  inconsiderable  cost,  and  when  completed  would  make 
the  supplies  of  all  kinds  superabundant.  Between  Lake  Nicaragua 
and  the  Pacific,  near  the  line  of  the  projected  canal,  several  passable 
roads  exist,  and  whatever  other  roads  might  be  required  over  this 
short  distance  could  readily  be  made  at  inconsiderable  cost. 

There  is  an  inexhaustible  water  supply  in  its  lake  of  2800  miles  of 
superfice,  which  equalizes  floods  and  makes  the  daily  changes  small  in 
the  discharge  of  the  River  San  Juan,  by  which  it  debouches  into  the 
Caribbean  Sea. 

It  has  an  excellent  harbor  on  the  Pacific  coast  at  San  Juan  del  Sur,. 
convenient  for  anchorage  as  Brito  itself  would  be  if  improved  as  a 
harbor,  inasmuch  as  the  vessel  in  transit  would  have  time  to  regulate 
her  steam  and  be  pointed  fair  to  enter  the  canal  at  any  assigned  time^ 
This  reduces  the  necessity  of  a  harbor  at  Brito  to  simply  securing  a 
perfectly  smooth  entrance  to  the  canal. 

Lake  Nicaragua  affords  every  facility  for  an  interchange  of  cargoes 
that  may  be  desired. 

The  west  coast  and  the  valley  of  the  Lake  are,  as  compared  with 
the  eastern  slope,  comparatively  healthy,  and  upon  the  eastern  slope 
a  considerable  part  of  the  labor  can  be  done  by  means  of  dredging- 
machines. 

The  approaches  to  both  entrances  are  superior  in  advantages  to 
those  of  either  of  the  two  other  routes  with  which  the  Nicaragua  route 
is  compared. 

These  considerations  would  seem  to  warrant  the  belief  that  cost  of 
construction,  including  material,  would  be  far  less  than  upon  either 
of  the  two  other  routes  with  which  the  Nicaragua  route  is  compared, 
as  will  be  more  fully  shown  hereafter. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  49 

PANAMA  EOUTE. 

The  mean  annual  rainfall  at  Aspinwall  in  a  series  of  seven  years  is 
found  to  be  124.25  inches,  or  3.15  metres.  A  dry  season  exists,  but 
it  is  limited  to  two  or  three  months,  lessening  the  effective  time  for 
labor  and  of  comparative  healthfulness  of  the  laborers  employed,  the 
wet  being  the  sickly  season. 

No  building  material  suitable  is  known  in  that  region.  The  ties 
and  railroad  telegraph  poles  on  the  Panama  Railroad  are  brought  from 
Carthagena  or  elsewhere. 

The  population  is  inferior  to  Nicaragua,  and  the  country  less  able 
to  furnish  subsistence  for  a  large  number  of  laborers. 

By  means  of  the  railroad  already  constructed  a  canal  under  con- 
struction would  have  a  convenient  transportation  at  whatever  cost 
might  be  agreed  upon. 

The  cost  of  the  feeder  and  adjuncts,  as  well  as  other  disadvantages,- 
notwithstanding  the  shortness  of  the  line,  as  shown  by  maps,  plans, 
and  estimates,  make  a  total  of  $94,511,360,  as  against  those  of  the 
Nicaragua  route  of  $65,722,137,  on  a  common  basis  of  cost  of  material 
and  labor,  when  in  Nicaragua  the  material  is  near  at  hand,  and  subsist- 
ence abundant,  and  on  the  Panama  route,  or  in  its  region,  there  is  no 
material  for  construction,  inferior  subsistence,  and  less  favorable  cli- 
matic conditions  for  labor,  as  before  stated. 

ATRATO-NAPIPI  ROUTE. 

Although  the  mean  annual  rainfall  is  not  known,  there  is  no  doubt 
of  the  fact  that  it  is  largely  in  excess  of  the  rainfall  at  Aspinwall,  on 
the  Panama  route.  There  is  only  a  nominal  dry  season,  as  at  any 
time  a  precipitation  of  several  inches  is  likely  to  occur,  and  actually 
does  occur  many  times  yearly  during  the  so-called  "  dry  season." 

The  building  material  supposed  to  be  available  is  confined  to  wood. 

The  population  is  so  scant  as  to  be  unable  to  furnish  either  assist- 
ance or  subsistence  for  even  an  inconsiderable  number  of  laborers. 

The  River  Atrato  would  furnish  transportation  to  the  mouth  of 
the  River  Napipi.  Along  the  line  of  the  projected  canal  the  country 
is  alternately  rough  and  covered  with  swamps,  so  that  great  labor 
would  be  necessary  to  construct  roads  to  secure  even  wagon  transpor- 
tation for  subsistence  and  material  for  construction. 

Under  such  conditions  the  projected  feeders  requisite  would  be  made 
at  great  additional  cost,  as  well  as  the  projected  tunnel  and  locks.  In 
4 


50  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

dimensions  the  projected  tunnel  is  as  follows :  length,  5,633  metres ; 
height,  35.96  metres;  width,  18.29  metres. 

On  the  Atlantic  slope  there  are  twelve  projected  locks  of  3.14 
metres  lift,  and  on  the  Pacific  slope  ten  of  4.54  metres  lift,  the 
summit-level  being  43.59  metres  above  mean  tide. 

With  the  view  of  having  a  definite  comparison,  the  estimates  for 
material  and  labor,  so  far  as  they  are  identical,  were  made  on  a  com- 
mon basis  with  Nicaragua.  The  cost  on  this  basis  is  given  as 
$98,196,894;  but  it  is  quite  apparent  that  with  the  lack  of  material 
convenient,  and  of  subsistence  and  transportation,  as  well  as  the 
absence  of  a  dry  season,  and  above  all,  the  impossibility  of  making 
even  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  cost  of  a  tunnel  under  such  con- 
ditions, that  the  actual  cost  of  the  execution  of  the  work  would  be  far 
in  excess  of  the  estimate. 

The  same  physical  conditions — the  absence  of  a  dry  season,  and  a 
general  lack  of  material  for  construction,  except  wood,  and  the  lack 
of  subsistence — were  found  to  exist  by  all  of  our  parties,  at  various 
times,  on  what  is  known  properly  as  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  of 
all  the  region  lying  south  of  it. 

The  long  period  of  time  over  which  the  surveys  of  the  United 
States  have  been  prosecuted,  designed  to  elucidate  the  problem  of  an 
inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  indicates  a  persistent  interest  in  this  subject. 
I  am  happy  to  add  that  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  and  his  cabinet 
are  fully  alive  to  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  a  full  consideration 
of  the  construction  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  now  that  further 
researches  of  the  topography  of  that  region  no  longer  promise  a  com- 
mensurate reward. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  will  look  with  great  interest  upon 
the  discussions  and  deliberations  of  this  distinguished  convocation, 
and  to  suggestions  which  indicate  the  means  that  may  be  adopted  to 
secure  a  speedy  commencement  of  the  work  of  an  American  inter- 
oceanic  ship  canal  on  such  a  basis  as  should  assure  its  uninterrupted 
prosecution  and  early  completion.  It  would  seem  that  this  object 
could  best  be  accomplished  by  making  the  work  actually  international, 
could  a  proper  and  satisfactory  basis  of  co-operation  be  arrived  at. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  recognize  the  great  amelioration 
and  benefit  that  the  commerce  of  the  world  would  derive  through  the 
completion  of  this  great  work,  and  are  not  disposed  to  regard  the  con- 
sideration of  this  subject  solely  with  reference  to  the  degree  in  which 
the  commerce  and  interests  of  the  United  States  will  be  relatively 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  51 

benefited  through  its  construction  as  compared  with  the  advantages 
that  may  accrue  to  other  commercial  nations.  Such  a  ship  canal 
cannot  fail  to  be  a  great  and  common  benefit,  and  especially  in  open- 
ing a  rapid  and  easy  transit  between  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Europe 
and  America  with  the  western  coast  of  America,  and  by  the  speedy 
development  of  Australia.  Regarding  this  inter-oceanic  ship  canal 
when  constructed  as  the  greatest  possible  artificial  highway  that  can 
be  constructed,  conferring  benefits  on  all  nations  and  peoples,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  consider  its  construction  as  one  of  common 
interest,  and  the  guarantee  of  its  neutrality  a  duty  in  common  to  all 
nations. 

The  presentation  of  maps,  plans,  etc.,  was  followed  by  a  technical 
presentation  of  the  Nicaragua  route  by  Civil  Engineer  Menocal. 
Afterwards,  in  answer  to  inquiries,  he  gave  the  methods  of  proposed 
improvement  of  the  harbor  of  Greytown  and  the  regimen  of  the  bar 
as  observed  by  him  during  several  recent  visits  to  that  locality.  I 
may  add  here  properly,  that  the  able  sub-commission  subscribed  to 
the  efficacy  of  the  proposed  method  and  as  well  to  the  method  pro- 
posed for  constructing  the  dams  across  the  San  Juan.  Several  engi- 
neers of  note,  at  that  time  not  favorably  disposed  to  the  Nicaragua 
route,  made  many  inquiries  with  the  view  of  developing  its  difficulties 
and  its  inferiority,  and  became  so  well  informed  as  to  adopt  it  as  the 
route  offering  relatively  the  fewest  difficulties,  and,  in  the  end,  cer- 
tainty of  execution.  These  engineers  were  found  afterwards  among 
those  who  abstained  from  voting. 

On  the  second  general  meeting  of  the  Congress,  May  19th,  Sir 
John  Hawkshaw,  of  England,  whose  reputation  as  an  hydraulic  engi- 
neer is  second  to  none,  was  present.  The  afternoon  was  taken  up  in 
a  desultory  discussion  of  the  Panama  route  by  Lieutenants  Wyse  and 
Reclus,  of  the  French  Navy.  A  considerable  part  of  tne  discourse 
was  directed  to  the  Nicaragua  route,  which  was  not  under  discussion. 
The  data  upon  which  their  plans  were  constructed  were  quite  insuffi- 
cient. The  cause  of  the  anxiety  of  Lieutenant  Wyse,  when  in  the 
United  States,  two  months  before,  to  obtain  tracings  of  our  maps  and 
plans  became  at  once  apparent.  They  were  not  furnished  him  because 
it  was  considered  improper  to  give  them  publicity  abroad  in  advance 
of  their  publication  at  home. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  previous  to  last  autumn,  after  making 
an  examination  of  the  valleys  of  the  streams  falling  into  the  Bay  of 
San  Miguel  in  1876-77,  and  visiting  that  region  the  following  season, 


52  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

Lieutenant  Wyse  made  plans  and  estimates  for  two  routes,  the  one 
preferred  by  him  called  the  Tuyra-Tupisa  route,  which  by  his  Report 
was  supposed  equal,  or  nearly  so,  to  any  that  had  been  developed 
through  our  surveys.  This  route  seemed  to  me  hopeless  from  the 
existence  of  the  gravest  difficulties,  some  of  which  I  mentioned  in  my 
paper  of  November  last.  It  seems  from  what  I  shall  presently  quote, 
that  Lieutenant  Wyse  had  the  frankness  to  inform  the  Society  for 
which  he  was  acting,  that  in  his  view  a  ship  canal  across  that  region  was 
impossible.  He  did  not  present  it  at  all  in  the  Congress,  but  took  up 
the  Panama  route  on  whatever  information  he  had,  and  developed  it 
for  a  ship  canal  a  niveau,  which  certainly  was  a  step  in  the  right 
direction.  It  may  be  said  without  dispute  that  for  a  canal  at  the  ocean- 
level,  the  Panama  route  is  far  preferable  to  any  other.  The  possibility 
of  it  must  be  considered  simply  in  a  commercial  sense,  as  a  canal,  if 
made  at  all,  must  have  that  condition. 

The  following  day,  May  20th,  Civil  Engineer  Menocal  was  invited 
to  explain  the  plans  and  estimates  of  the  Panama  route,  and  was  so 
interrupted  by  questions  that  Sir  John  Hawkshaw  suggested  allowing 
him  to  proceed  and  making  questions  afterwards. 

He  stated  that  when  Commander  Lull  and  party  began  the  survey 
of  the  Panama  route,  there  was  no  pre-occupation  as  to  what  height 
above  the  sea,  if  any,  would  be  selected  as  the  summit-level.  They 
found  at  Matachin  that  the  floods  of  the  river  passed  some  five  or 
six  feet  over  the  railroad  track,  and  that  at  low  water  the  surface  of 
the  stream  was  forty-two  feet  above  the  ocean-level.  In  considering 
the  question,  it  became  apparent  that  if  the  ocean-level  were  adopted, 
an  excavation  would  be  necessary,  making  the  normal  surface  of  the 
proposed  canal  forty-two  feet  below  the  present  low  water,  which 
would  then  make  a  small  cascade,  and  in  periods  of  floods  would  be 
transformed  into  a  cataract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand 
cubic  feet  per  second,  from  a  height  of  nearly  seventy-eight  feet,  the 
decrease  being  due  to  the  increase  of  the  velocity  of  the  water  as  it 
approached  the  precipice,  and  also  to  the  head  of  the  water  above  the 
ocean-level  after  falling,  which  would  give  a  corresponding  velocity 
on  its  course  to  the  sea. 

It  was  apparent  that  either  this  great  volume  of  water  must  be 
received  into  the  canal  from  an  elevation  which  would  make  the  eifect 
destructive,  or  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  lock  up  so  as  to  permit 
the  floods  to  pass  beneath  the  aqueduct.  This  would  bring  the 
surface-level  of  the  water  in  it  to  an  elevation  of  one  hundred  and 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  53 

twenty-four  feet  above  the  sea-level.  This  was  found  to  entail  the 
construction  of  a  feeder,  with  its  adjuncts,  at  a  cost  of  $9,942,727,  with 
either  a  doubtful  or  a  scant  supply  during  a  portion  of  the  seasons  of 
unusual  draught.  On  concluding,  Mr.  Menocal  stated  his  willingness 
to  answer  questions  without  eliciting  any. 

On  the  21st  another  general  session  was  held.  Sir  John  Hawkshaw 
gave  his  opinion  on  the  Panama  route,  as  follows : — 

"  "With  regard  to  the  question  whether  the  canal  should  be  con- 
structed with  or  without  locks,  the  following  points  occur  to  me : — 

"  If  the  canal  is  to  be  without  locks  its  normal  surface-level  would 
be  that  of  the  sea,  and  its  bottom-level,  say  eight  metres  lower.  This 
being  the  case,  the  canal  would  receive  and  must  provide  for  the  whole 
drainage  of  the  district  it  traversed. 

"  Therefore  it  would  be  necessary  to  ascertain  the  volume  of  water 
that  would  drain  into  the  canal  before  it  would  be  possible  even  to 
determine  the  sectional  area  of  the  canal. 

"  If  the  canal  have  a  less  surface-fall  than  the  river,  as  it  would  have, 
it  must  have  a  larger  sectional  area  to  discharge  the  same  volume  of 
water. 

"  The  average  section  of  the  river  in  a  flood  at  Mamei'  was  ascertained 
by  Mr.  Reclus  to  be  1310  square  metres.  This  would  require  a  canal, 
if  it  were  eight  metres  deep,  to  be  160  metres  wide. 

"  The  waters  of  the  Chagres  would  have  a  tendency  to  flow  toward 
the  Pacific,  that  is,  through  the  tunnel,  as  the  distance  is  less  and  the 
fall  greater  than  to  the  Atlantic. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  dimensions  of  the  tunnel,  if  it  has  to  serve 
for  both  the  river  and  canal,  would  be  too  small.  Mr  MenocaFs 
estimate  of  the  volume  of  the  Chagres  in  time  of  flood  would  much 
more  than  fill  the  tunnel ;  and  in  any  case  the  whole  section  of  the 
tunnel  is  only  half  that  of  the  river  in  time  of  flood,  as  given  by  Mr. 
Reclus. 

"  During  the  construction  of  a  canal  at  the  sea-level  difficulties  would 
arise  in  providing  for  the  drainage,  which  would  affect  both  time  of 
execution  and  cost  to  an  extent  that  could  hardly  be  ascertained  in 
advance. 

"  If,  from  such  considerations  as  the  foregoing,  it  should  be  concluded 
that  the  canal  should  be  so  constructed  as  to  retain  the  rivers  for 
natural  drainage,  then  recourse  will  have  to  be  had  to  locks. 


54  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

In  that  event  there  can  be  no  difficulty,  in  my  opinion ,  in  carrying- 
on  the  traffic  with  locks  properly  constructed,  provided  there  is  an 
ample  water  supply,  which  would  be  a  sine  qua  non.*" 

It  will  be  observed  that  Sir  John  expressed  the  axioms  heretofore 
acknowledged  by  able  engineers  :  to  avoid  surface-drainage,  and  to 
have  an  abundant  water  supply. 

After  reading  his  opinion,  he  remarked  that  a  residence  of  two  or 
more  years  in  inter-tropical  America  had  given  him  a  knowledge  of 
how  these  showers  behave,  without  which  he  might  think  differently. 
In  a  conversation  with  him  before  he  left  Paris,  after  two  days' 
attendance  at  the  Congress,  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  canal 
could  not  be  excavated  a  niveau,  and  if  it  were,  that  it  would  be  filled 
up  with  trees  and  silt. 

A  pamphlet  by  V.  Dauzats,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Suez  Canal,  com- 
pares that  canal  with  the  various  routes  proposed  across  this  continent. 
He  quotes  at  length  from  my  last  paper  read  before  this  Society, 
showing  the  marked  contrast  of  physical  conditions,  the  region  of 
the  Suez  Canal  having  a  mean  annual  rainfall  of  less  than  two 
inches,  whilst  the  region  of  the  Panama  Canal  has  a  rainfall  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  inches.  His  deduction  is,  that  surface- 
drainage  falling  into  a  canal  has  a  scouring  effect  which  is  beneficial, 
whilst  the  abrasion  of  the  banks  of  a  canal  is  far  more  destructive. 
Were  it  not  too  great  a  tax  on  your  patience,  I  would  point  out  the 
fallacy  of  such  an  argument.  It  is  assumed  that  when  a  river  as  the 
Chagres  is  dredged  it  will  change  its  regimen.  This  deduction  is 
necessary  to  a  supposition  that  a  canal  a  niveau  at  Panama  is  possible. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  19th  the  Technical  Commission  was  divided  : 
one  part  to  report  upon  the  practicability  of  locks  as  presented  on  the 
Nicaragua  route,  the  other  to  consider  the  question  of  making  tunnels 
for  navigation.  There  was  confusion  and  violent  action,  I  was  in- 
formed, on  the  part  of  Lieutenant  Wyse,  growing  out  of  his  opposition 
to  Mr.  Menocal  being  put  on  the  sub-commission  on  locks.  Mr. 
Menocal  very  properly  asked  to  be  excused. 


*  Through  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London," 
page  608,  of  September  last,  we  learn  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  Geographical  Society  of 
Paris,  M.  de  Lessep^  said  that  the  plans  of  Wyse  and  Reclus  were  undergoing  modifi- 
cations in  the  substitution  of  an  open  cut  for  a  tunnel,  and  providing  for  a  new  bed  for 
the  Chagres  River,  the  latter  not  considered  necessary  in  the  Congress  by  M.  Dauzats  and 
others.  It  is  highly  complimentary  to  Sir  John  Hawkshaw  that  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  Congress  his  ideas  have  more  force  than  when  presented.  The  increased  estimates, 
especially  for  the  latter,  should  be  simply  enormous. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  55 

The  Report  as  to  locks  was  that  they  could  be  made  to  serve  their 
purpose.  The  calculations  for  a  tunnel  were  made  for  construction  on 
a  dry  foundation  •  it  was  stated  there  were  no  elements  of  calculation 
for  building  a  tunnel  below  the  sea-level  as  the  plans  demanded. 

During  the  sitting  of  the  Congress  I  found  myself  frequently 
obliged  to  dissent  from  the  propositions  of  Commander  Sel fridge, 
U.  S.  Navy,  who,  strangely  enough,  was  found  in  the  Congress  without 
being  named  by  our  Government. 

This  officer  had  been  the  chief  of  large  parties  who  were  engaged 
during  the  seasons  of  1870,  1871,  and  1873,  in  examining  the  coasts 
lying  south  and  east  of  the  Panama  route,  at  San  Bias,  Caledonia 
Bay,  the  streams  flowing  from  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  adjacent  to 
the  Bay  of  San  Miguel,  and  of  the  counter-slopes  falling  into  the 
Atlantic,  also  in  making  an  examination  of  the  Atrato-Napipi  route 
for  a  ship  canal,  which  will  be  found  in  his  Report  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  of  June  12,  1873. 

I  refer  the  curious  reader  to  pages  from  66  to  70  inclusive,  and  to 
map  VIII.,  illustrative  of  the  Atrato-Napipi  route  as  developed  by 
Commander  Selfridge.  Nobody  reading  this  Rteport  and  referring  to 
the  map  would  suppose  for  an  instant  that  the  greater  part  of  it  was 
purely  imaginary,  the  ground  lying  between  the  rivers  Atrato  and 
the  Doguado  never  having  been  passed  over  by  Commander  Selfridge 
or  any  of  his  party.  It  is  delineated  as  an  inclined  plane,  locks 
located,  and  sections  of  elevations  given  in  figures !  Between  this 
fanciful  presentation  and  the  profiles  made  by  Lieutenant  Collins, 
U.  S.  Navy,  there  is  a  very  wide  difference.  I  quote  from  page  7  of 
my  Report : — 

"  Commander  Selfridge  then  said  that  the  remarks  made  by  Sir 
John  Hawkshaw  in  relation  to  the  Chagres  River  were  not  applicable 
to  the  Atrato-Napipi  route,  and  endeavored  to  enter  into  a  further 
discussion  of  its  merits.  I  stated  that  I  would  suggest  the  advantage  of 
discussing  the  carefully  prepared  plans  of  Lieutenant  Collins  along 
the  lines  of  actual  location,  which  were  the  best  that  could  be  found 
in  months  of  labor,  instead  of  lines  drawn  at  will  by  Commander 
Selfridge,  involving  uncertainty  of  execution  and  an  entire  absence  of 
elements  of  calculation,  as  every  engineer  would  recognize." 

This  was  one  of  several  occasions  that  I  had  to  suggest  the  ad- 
vantage of  discussing  facts  instead  of  indulging  in  fancies  calculated 
to  deceive  the  credulous  and  the  unwary,  and  absolutely  a  waste  of 
time  in  discussing. 


56  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

The  proceedings  of  the  General  Congress  on  the  23d,  and  in  the 
Technical  Commission  on  the  26th,  are  so  significant  that  I  shall 
append  them  without  omissions.  By  reference  to  the  Appendix,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  partial  quotations  which  I  shall  use  do  not 
present  a  perverted  meaning.  I  will  submit  the  question  to  every 
reader  of  the  Appendix,  whether,  free  from  any  comment,  it  is  not 
patent  that  the  Congress  was  not  called  to  decide  upon  the  best  route 
for  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal,  but  upon  what  was  possible  ma 
Panama. 

M.  DE  LESSEPS. — "  That  which  struck  us  the  most,  is  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  United  States  of  America  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  a 
canal  at  Panama." 

We  may  ask  with  surprise,  when  and  where  was  this  enthusiasm 
manifested  ?  I  saw  nothing  of  it ;  so  far  as  my  expression  is  con- 
cerned, it  requires  only  very  ordinary  perceptions  to  accredit  it  as 
something  more  than  that  of  an  individual,  inasmuch  as  I  had  been 
sent  there  by  my  Government. 

I  again  quote  M.  de  Lesseps. — "  Lieutenant  Wyse  and  his  companions 
have  rendered  us  an  account  of  the  mission  that  they  undertook. 
Seven  of  them  set  out,  four  are  dead  in  those  wilds  where  one  is  only 
able  to  effect  a  passage  with  a  hatchet  in  the  hand.  They  have  then 
returned,  and  have  had  the  honesty  to  declare  to  us  that  in  their  view 
a  canal  was  impossible  in  the  regions  that  they  had  returned  from 
exploring. "  This  seems  sufficient  to  dispose  of  the  historical  sketch  of 
M.  Hertz,  given  on  page  10  of  the  Proceedings,  as  follows:  "The 
French  committee  of  study  for  the  inter-oceanic  canal  [in  conse- 
quence of  the  completion  of  the  surveys  alluded  to  by  M.  de  Lesseps] 
thus  found  itself  able  to  submit  to  an  International  Canal  Congress 
a  collection  [of  information]  upon  which  it  would  be  able  to  pro- 
nounce intelligently.  It  is  known  with  what  alacrity  the  most 
learned  men  from  all  countries  have  responded  to  the  call.'7 

To  si  low  the  sufficiency  of  our  information  previous  to  these 
surveys  of  Lieutenant  Wyse  was  the  object  of  my  paper  read  October, 
1876,  in  reply  to  a  pamphlet  of  M.  Drouillet,  who  came  to  this 
country  to  obtain  assistaiu  e  in  making  further  surveys.  The  closing 
paragraph  of  my  paper  was  as  follows:  "I  may  add  as  a  personal 
conviction,  that  however  long  and  seriously  the  searcli  may  be  con- 
tinued for  "  results  "  by  surveys,  nothing  can  be  or  will  be  developed 
so  advantageous  as  that  which  the  surveys  of  our  Government  present 
for  your  consideration."  Lieutenant  Wyse's  surveys  undoubtedly  de- 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  57 

stroyed  pre-occupations  in  Paris,  and  so  far  was  useful  to  them,  which 
they  might  have  effected  at  less  cost  by  a  more  thorough  examination 
of  the  work  that  had  been  done  by  our  Government. 

Notwithstanding  what  M.  de  Lesseps  said  respecting  the  assertions 
of  Lieutenant  Wyse  as  to  the  impossibility  of  a  canal  in  that  region,  we 
find  in  Lieutenant  Wyse's  last  Report  a  tabulated  statement  of  routes, 
among  which  is  the  Tuyra-Tupisa,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  600,000,000 
francs. 

I  quote  again  M.  de  Lesseps. — "  I  have  consulted  M.  Lavalley,  and 
he  has  replied  that  it  [would  be]  decided  for  a  canal  a  niveau  that  it 
was  a  public  sentiment.  I  will  permit  myself  to  sustain  that  opinion." 
Again,  M.  Lavalley  has  studied  the  question  of  a  tunnel ;  he  believes 
It  certainly  possible.  He  says  "  it  is  only  a  question  of  cost." 

This  Society  will  be  surprised  to  find,  on  reading  all  that  M.  de 
Lesseps  has  justly  said  of  the  high  qualities  of  M.  Lavalley  as  given 
In  the  Appendix,  that  when  the  resolution  was  voted  on,  he,  as  also 
some  other  distinguished  engineers  of  the  French  Society,  were 
designedly  absent.  To  the  fact  that  these  eminent  engineers  have  not 
given  the  sanction  of  their  names  to  what  by  others  was  regarded  as 
possible  in  engineering  is  probably  due  the  discredit  shown  to  the 
decision  of  the  Congress. 

O 

I  quote  again  M.  de  Lesseps. — "  In  my  belief  we  should  not  make 
a  canal  with  locks  at  Panama,  but  a  canal  a  niveau  ;  that  is,  I  believe, 
the  opinion  of  the  public,  of  which  I  am  the  organ  at  this  moment." 

Here  we  see,  that  instead  of  studying  the  question  as  an  engineer, 
and  in  its  economic  conditions  relatively  with  other  routes,  M.  de 
Lesseps  pronounces  himself  to  be  the  organ  of  what  he  believes  to  be 
public  opinion.  Happily  for  the  public,  its  supposed  demand  could 
not  swerve  M.  Lavalley  and  others  of  great  reputation. 

I  call  attention  to  the  remarks  of  M.  Peralta  as  given  in  the 
Appendix.  This  learned  and  able  minister  of  Costa  Rica  to  our 
Government  is  well  known  to  many  of  you  personally.  His  sugges- 
tions were  not  to  be  considered ;  M.  de  Lesseps  wished  nothing  more 
embodied  in  the  resolution  than  whether  a  canal  a  niveau  via  Panama 
was  possible.  The  resolution  was  passed  as  he  desired,  by  such  a 
vote  as  to  call  forth  an  expression  of  his  satisfaction, — this,  too,  sup- 
ported by  the  demands  of  public  opinion,  as  he  stated,  and  yet  he  is 
not  happy. 

I  again  quote  M.  de  Lesseps. — "  Since  forty  years  I  have  studied  the 
question  [of  the  Suez  Canal],  I  have  always  understood  that  for  a 
profit  it  is  necessary  to  receive  at  the  least  10  francs  per  ton ;  one  can 


58  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

perfectly  well  make  the  American  Canal  pay  double  that  amount, 
whatever  project  may  be  brought  about.  These  [are]  considerations 
that  one  is  very  glad  to  know  for  the  future." 

The  humanitarian  idea  so  nicely  held  out,  and  especially  supported 
by  M.  Simonin,  is  dropped.  There  remains  alone  the  idea  of  con- 
structing a  canal  without  reference  to  whether  it  is  on  the  best 
location,  but  certainly  on  the  line  where  the  concessionists  are  entitled 
to  receive  by  the  terms  of  the  concession  10  per  cent,  of  the  stock 
issued. 

The  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Statistics  of  the  Congress  gives 
the  tonnage  likely  to  pass  through  the  canal  as  follows : — 
That  of  the  United  States,          ....         2,000,000  tons. 
"  Great  Britain,          ....         1,050,000     " 

"  France, 356,000     " 

"  all  other  Powers,    ....  356,000     " 

In  the  Bulletin  du  Canal  Inter- Ooeanique  of  October  1st,  pub- 
lished in  Paris  in  the  building  of  the  Suez  Canal,  there  is  an  article 
of  some  length  entitled  "via  Nicaragua,"  in  which  is  set  forth  in 
varied  terms  the  egotism  of  the  American  Commission  on  the  inter- 
oceanic  canal  question  as  shown  in  their  Report-  to  our  Government, 
and  also  the  same  quality  shown  by  our  official  delegates  to  the  Paris 
Congress. 

If  this  egotism  was  shown  as  is  supposed  in  the  Report,  it  was 
simply  in  the  endeavor  to  promote  the  public  interests  in  the  most 
economic  manner.  The  narrowness  of  the  views  of  the  Commission 
is  supposed  to  be  shown  in  recommending  lockage  for  vessels  of  only 
four  hundred  feet  in  length  and  a  beam  much  greater  proportionately 
than  that  given  vessels  at  this  time.  "Without  having  the  time  or 
patience  to  look  up  the  French  steamers,  I  will  venture  the  opinion 
that  all  of  them  longer  than  four  hundred  feet  could  be  counted  on 
the  fingers  of  one  hand. 

The  egotism  of  Mr.  Menocal  and  myself  at  the  Paris  Congress,  so 
far  as  I  am  capable  of  judging,  was  confined  to  a  fair  presentation  of 
all  of  the  information  in  the  possession  of  our  Government,  and  perhaps 
feeling  no  very  lively  interest  in  what  the  Congress  would  decide — 
not  determine — which  belongs  to  nature,  and  to  the  keen  appreciation 
of  moneyed  interests  as  to  what  will  and  what  will  not  pay.  After  the 
adjournment  of  the  Congress  an  engineer  very  much  in  the  confidence 
of  M.  de  Lesseps  said  to  me,  "  Now  that  the  matter  was  settled,  what 
amount  of  money  might  be  counted  on  in  America  to  promote  the 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  59 

enterprise?"  I  replied  that  in  my  opinion  they  would  not  get  a  dol- 
lar. Evidently  in  my  egotism  I  was  wrong :  to  what  extent  will  only  be 
known  when  the  Bulletin  devoted  to  the  canal  interests  publishes  the 
amounts  subscribed  in  France  and  elsewhere  for  the  construction  of 
the  canal  d  niveau.  Without  assuming  to  speak  for  the  public,  I  feel 
sure  that  such  a  statement  would  be  read  with  interest. 

Looking  at  the  table  just  read  of  the  tonnage  of  the  different 
nations,  we  see  the  egotisms  [interests]  of  all  of  them  in  form,  and 
substance.  In  the  matter  of  the  canal,  the  interests  of  the  United 
States  now  are  practically  double  those  of  Great  Britain,  and  will  be- 
come relatively  greater  proportionate  to  the  increase  of  populations; 
those  of  France  are,  roughly,  one-third  of  Great  Britain,  and  yet  if 
the  word  egotism  is  a  proper  substitution  for  the  word  interests,  she 
has  as  much  as  all  the  rest  of  mankind. 

In  an  interview  given  in  the  New  York  World  of  October  9thr 
M.  de  Lesseps  is  reported  to  have  said,  "If  I  may  say  so,  I  do  not 
think  the  Americans  are  very  clear-sighted  on  this  matter.  They  are  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  it  is  to  some  extent  a  question  of  race.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  race  is  unequalled  for  its  power  of  dealing  with  the  cir- 
cumstances immediately  before  it,  but  I  do  not  think  it  sees  very  far 
into  the  future.  The  Latin  race  has  a  somewhat  wider  intellectual 
horizon."  He  regards  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  as  eminently  practical; 
and  without  being  of  that  race,  I  can  well  believe  him.  Granting 
his  foreseeing  power,  may  we  not  ask  the  probable  number  of  Anglo- 
Saxons  on  this  continent  at  the  end  of  this  century,  and  at  that  time, 
also,  of  those  inhabiting  Australia  and  the  Pacific  Islands?  Awaiting 
his  reply,  may  we  not,  without  egotism,  assume  it  to  be,  roughly,  one 
hundred  millions  of  people? 

We  can  leave  to  M.  de  Lesseps,  with  his  long  view,  the  contem- 
plation of  the  end  of  the  next  century,  the  period  A.  D.  2000.  Still, 
even  to  our  obscured  vision,  there  seems  a  mighty  multitude  of  men; 
shall  we  give  it  shape  in  supposing  it  to  number  at  least  300,000,000? 

Dropping  the  consideration  of  humanitarian  ideas  so  unhappily 
dispelled,  and  looking  at  it  as  a  plain  business  matter,  could  we  not 
submit  the  question  to  the  citizens  of  the  two  Powers  first  named, 
whether  it  would  not  be  worth  while  to  consider  the  construction  of  a 
canal  on  a  commercial  basis,  and  with  reference  to  a  careful  examina- 
ation  of  all  of  the  points  involved,  and  if  found  practicable  in  that 
view,  do  the  work,  and  if  otherwise,  develop  through  the  United 
States  and  the  Canadas  sir h  additional  railroads  as  would  ameloriate: 
the  commerce  of  which  they  are  so  largely  the  factors  ? 


60  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC  • 

After  considering  the  proceedings  of  the  23d,  in  the  general  session, 
and  a  part  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Technical  Commission  of  the 
26th  of  May,  as  given  in  the  Appendix,  we  can  proceed  to  consider 
the  vote  more  intelligently.  A  resolution  was  introduced  to  conform 
to  the  wishes,  as  expressed,  of  M.  de  Lesseps.  It  is  as  follows : — 

"  Le  Congre"s  estime  que  le  percement  d'un  canal  inter-oceanique  & 
niveau  constant,  si  desirable  dans  1'interet  du  commerce  et  de  la  navi- 
gation est  possible,  et  que  le  canal  maritime  pour  repondre  aux  facil- 
ite"s  indispensables  d'acces  et  d'utilization  qui  doit  offrir  avant  tout  un 
passage  de  ce  genre  devra  etre  dirige  du  Golfe  de  Simon  a  la  baie  de 
Panama." 

Which  I  translate  in  these  terms : — 

"  The  Congress  considers  that  the  piercing  of  an  inter-oceanic  canal 
at  a  constant  level,  so  desirable  in  the  interests  of  commerce  and  nav- 
igation, is  possible,  and  that  a  maritime  canal  to  respond  to  an  indis- 
pensable facility  of  access  and  utilization  which  a  work  of  this  kind 
should  oifer,  should  be  located  between  the  Gulf  of  Simon  and  the 
Bay  of  Panama." 

The  official  vote  as  given  in  the  proceedings  is  as  follows:  Absten- 
tions, 12;  against  the  resolution,  8;  in  favor  of  it,  78.  The  most 
significant  figure  is  omitted.  As  counted  up  on  the  record,  36  were 
<jhsentj  among  whom  were  a  considerable  number  of  engineers  of 
note,  and  perhaps  half  a  dozen  delegates  w^ho  were  not  in  attendance 
during  the  session. 

Had  it  not  been  that  the  expression  of  my  abstention  from  voting 
was  regarded  as  an  "  enigma,"  which  has  been  solved  in  the  Bulletin 
of  October  1st,  I  would  not  have  alluded  to  it.  I  abstained  from 
voting  on  the  ground  that  "  only  able  engineers  can  form  an  opinion, 
after  careful  study,  of  what  is  actually  possible,  and  what  is  relatively 
economical  in  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal."  I  feel  sure  that  it 
will  excite  a  smile  among  us  to  suppose  this  in  any  degree  enigmati- 
cal, and  may  recall  the  ideas  so  ludicrously  shown  in  the  comedy  of 
the  Irish  Ambassador. 

In  relation  to  the  vote  and  to  the  delegates,  a  pamphlet  published 
in  Paris,  titled  "  Panama,  400,000,000  a  I'eau,"  gives  the  following: 
"Let  it  be  remarked  that  one-half  the  members  of  the  Congress 
were  French;  they  had  been  chosen  by  the  organizers  of  that 
assembly;  34  members  belonged  to  the  Geographical  or  the  Com- 
mercial Geographical  Society  of  Paris.  What  was  their  compe- 
tency to  decide  between  a  canal  with  locks  or  on  a  sea-level?  14 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  61 

other  members  were  engineers  or  assistants  of  some  sort  on  the  Suez 
Canal.  What  was  their  impartiality  to  decide  between  M.  de  Lesseps 
and  others?  And  among  the  others,  if  one  takes  count  of  personal 
friendships  and  of  prestige  exercised  by  a  great  name,  how  many 
more  will  remain?" 

No  one  will  deny  that  among  the  French  delegates  to  the  Congress 
were  men  eminent  in  every  branch  of  engineering  science,  and  others 
of  the  highest  character  as  men  of  science.  The  same  may  properly 
be  said  of  the  foreign  delegates.  They  were  men  of  character  and 
special  attainments,  usually  having  relation  to  the  subjects  that  would 
concern  a  canal,  if  not  its  construction. 

As  regards  the  engineers  of  Holland  and  Belgium  especially, 
where  the  land  is  so  flat  and  the  rainfall  so  small,  their  practical  ex- 
perience of  a  head  of  water  would  be  confined  almost  to  tidal  action. 
However  able  they  may  be,  they  had  not,  so  far  as  I  know,  that  prac- 
tical experience  of  inter-tropical  America  that  made  Sir  John 
Hawkshaw  so  competent  an  authority. 

Engineers  in  other  branches  would  naturally  adopt  the  opinions  of 
the  hydraulic  engineers,  and  as  far  as  their  conscience  would  permit, 
be  disposed  to  support  the  opinions  and  wishes  of  M.  de  Lesseps, 
especially  if  expressed  emphatically,  as  found  in  the  Appendix.  They 
would  say,  very  properly,  the  execution  of  the  work  was  for  M.  de  Les- 
seps, and  not  at  all  their  affair.  He  had  asked  them  to  say  that  the  canal 
a  niveau  was  possible,  and  they  had  obligingly  done  so.  He  did  not 
think  it  worth  while  to  ask  his  honorable  confreres  if  they  thought 
Panama  the  best  canal  route;  indeed,  it  would  not  have  been  prudent 
to  do  so,  as  he  had  determined  that  the  canal  should  be  built  at 
Panama  a  niveau.  As  expressed  by  an  engineer  very  much  in  his 
confidence :  "  If  they  found  it  possible,  the  first  thing  was  to  get  the 
money,  the  next  was  to  build  the  canal  in  the  best  manner  that 
they  found  possible."  Even  a  great  general  needs  "the  sinews  of  war." 
The  public  who  made  the  demand  through  M.  de  Lesseps  to  have  a 
canal  a  niveau  should  not  desert  him  so  cruelly.  He  has  met  them 
fully  half  way,  in  reducing  the  cost  of  construction  one-half,  as  given 
by  the  Congress,  and  in  still  further  shortening  the  time  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  work,  as  given  in  his  provincial  tours,  beyond  that 
assigned  by  him  in  the  Commission  on  the  26th,  as  shown  in  the 
Appendix.* 

*  After  the  Congress,  comes  naturally  a  period  of  rejoicing :  of  tours  in  the  provinces, 
and  of  presentation  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences, — the  grand  event,  and  the  success  of  the 
Congress.  I  trust  you  have  all  read  what  he  said  on  that  occasion.  I  will  only  quote- 


62  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

I  do  not  propose  to  discuss  the  terms  of  the  concession  fully,  as 
found  on  page  281  of  the  Report  of  Lieutenant  "Wyse.  I  will  point 
out  some  features  that  seem  to  me  objectionable  in  the  extreme. 

The  Canal  Company  agrees  to  transport  gratuitously  all  persons  in 
the  civil  and  military  service  of  Colombia,  their  baggage,  arms,  and 
ammunition,  and  if  the  company  is  not  provided  with  vessels  suitable 
for  their  transportation,  to  pay  their  passages  and  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  armaments  and  ammunition. 

the  closing  paragraphs  of  his  remarks  :  "  I  will  add,  as  an  event  that  seemed  to  me  the 
most  significant,  finding  myself  yesterday  at  Nanterre,  coming  out  of  the  municipal 
hall,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  annual  fete  of  the  Rosary,  I  was  accosted  by  a  group  of 
peasants.  One  of  them,  as  spokesman,  said  to  me,  '  When  will  you  open  the  subscrip- 
tions to  the  American  canal  ?  We  are  with  you.' 

"  By  that  voice  of  the  people  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  heard  the  vox  Dei,  and  imme- 
diately took  the  resolution  not  to  delay  making  a  call  in  all  countries  for  400,000,000 
francs." 

That  was  an  aspect  of  the  canal  question  to  M.  de  Lesseps  and  to  the  peasants, — a 
case,  we  may  call  it,  of  mutual  self-deception.  The  illusions  of  fancy  on  the  one  hand 
were  of  a  host  of  peasants  bearing  numberless  stockings  to  be  emptied  of  their  gold  and 
silver — a  veritable  bonanza !  On  the  other  hand,  the  simple  peasants  gazed  with  rapture 
upon  what  seemed  to  them  a  veritable  Aladdin,  who  had  happily  presented  himself  to 
their  mortal  eyes,  and  taken  upon  himself  to  make  them  all  rich,  and  spare  them  for  the 
future  from  the  toils  of  life.  Beautiful,  touching  picture  !  that  rested  on  the  mental 
vision,  then  faded  away  into  the  cold,  sombre,  almost  dismal  realities  of  life.  One  thing 
alone  can  console  in  some  manner :  neither  party  is  the  poorer  for  having  met  the 
other. 

The  subscriptions  proposed  by  M.  de  Lesseps  for  the  inchoate  Panama  Canal  Company 
were  800,000  shares  of  500  francs  each,  amounting  to  400,000,000  francs.  It  was  in- 
tended afterwards  to  put  a  loan  on  the  market  for  200,000,000  francs,  stock  and  loan 
amounting  to  one-half  what  the  Congress  estimated  the  canal  a  niveau  would  cost, 
without  considering  the  cost  of  diverting  the  Chagres  or  constructing  the  tunnel  on 
proper  foundations  26  feet  below  the  sea-level.  The  public  has  not  been  informed,  so 
far  as  I  know,  as  to  the  methods  employed  to  so  lessen  the  cost  of  the  work. 

Due  notice  was  given  that  the  books  for  subscriptions  would  be  formally  opened  on 
the  6th  and  7th  of  August  last  in  all  of  the  great  commercial  cities  of  Europe  and 
America ;  intimation  was  given  that  before  the  formal  opening  a  convenient  back-door 
would  be  open  for  the  appreciative  and  prudent  to  enter  and  subscribe,  thus  avoiding 
the  annoyance  and  loss  which  might  arise  from  not  receiving  all  of  the  shares  subscribed 
for  after  the  books  were  formerly  opened,  but  only  a  proper  apportionment  in  view  of  the 
large  excess  of  the  subscriptions.  The  eventful  days  came  and  passed ;  although  the 
object  of  the  existence  of  the  Bulletin  Inter- Oceanique  is  said  to  be  to  inform  the  pub- 
lic on  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  canal,  we  are  in  ignorance  of  the  actual  amount  of 
the  subscriptions,  and  only  know,  as  it  were,  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  President  they 
were  insufficient  to  warrant  the  immediate  commencement  of  the  work.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  authentic  information,  we  are  indebted  to  other  sources  for  the  estimate  that  the 
amount  of  stock  taken  was  a  little  in  excess  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  estimated  cost  of  the 
canal. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  63 

The  Government  of  Colombia  is  to  receive  semi-annually  5  per 
<jent.  of  the  gross  receipts  of  the  Company  for  the  first  twenty-five 
years ;  6  per  cent,  for  the  second  twenty-five  years ;  7  per  cent,  for  the 
third  twenty-five  years ;  and  for  the  remaining  twenty-four  years,  8 
per  cent. ;  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  canal  reverts  to  the  Colombia 
Government. 

The  Company  is  "authorized  to  reserve  10  per  cent,  of  the  shares 
for  the  benefit  of  the  founders  and  aiders  of  the  enterprise."  The 
only  hope  for  a  stockholder  would  seem  to  be  in  the  extraordinary 
impost  of  ten  francs  per  cubic  metre,  not  on  the  gross  tonnage  or 
weight  of  vessel  and  cargo,  but  upon  the  cubical  contents  of  a  paral- 
lelopiped  represented  in  the  length,  breadth,  and  draught  of  the  vessel ! 
Lieutenant  Wyse  supposed  that  this  measurement  might  amount  to 
30  francs  per  ton,  which,  if  imposed  on  ordinary  cargoes  at  ordinary 
prices,  as  wheat,  would  make  a  voyage  from  San  Francisco  around 
Cape  Horn  preferable  in  economy. 

Looking  at  the  terms  of  the  "concession/7  as  it  is  called,  and  the 
whole  matter  from  beginning  to  end,  the  wonder  is  that  the  subscrip- 
tions were  so  large  rather  than  that  they  were  so  insignificant  for  the 
purpose  of  constructing  a  canal. 

When  Lieutenant  Wyse  was  before  a  Commission  in  the  Congress,  he 
was  questioned  as  to  the  Panama  Railroad  and  its  franchises,  and  re- 
plied that  he  had  made  a  satisfactory  arrangement  by  which  the  Canal 
Company  would  gain  two  millions  of  francs  yearly,  but  gave  no 
further  explanation  as  to  the  arrangement.* 


*  I  have  been  permitted  to  examine  the  articles  of  agreement  of  the  "  Civil  Interna- 
tional Society  for  the  construction  of  the  Inter-Oceanic  Canal  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien,"  signed  August  19,  1876,  and  also  of  the  proceedings  of  its  members  in  the 
partition  of  the  venture  in  general  assembly  in  Paris,  June  10  and  17,  1879. 

These  interesting  and  instructive  documents  are  not  intended  for  the  reading  of  the 
public ;  it  would  not  add  to  the  value  of  the  shares  or  to  the  reputation  of  the  concern. 
A  single  copy  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  moneyed  interests  would  seem  sufficient  cause 
why  the  canal  a  niveau  would  receive  no  support. 

A  "  concession"  obtained  by  M.  Gogorza  from  the  Colombian  Government  had  sufficient 
value  in  the  eyes  of  General  Ttirr  and  Lieutenant  Wyse  to  admit  of  purchase  and  of 
initiating  "  surveys,"  and  additional  solicitations  for  amendments  to  the  concession.  In 
furtherance  of  additional  surveys,  M.  Drouillet,  French  engineer,  appeared  in  New 
York  in  August,  1876,  and  asked  the  co-operation  of  our  learned  societies  to  aid  in  a 
"serious  attempt"  to  explore  the  Isthmus  in  behalf  of  science,  and,  doubtless,  of  this 
learned  and,  may  we  say,  disinterested  association  ?  As  an  engineer,  he  declared  that 
for  five  years  he  had  endeavored  to  study  the  problem,  but  could  not,  as  the  information 
was  quite  contradictory.  My  paper  read  October  31,  1876,  as  before  stated,  was  de- 


64  THE  AMERICAN  INTER- OCEANIC 

So  far,  in  general,  we  have  been  regarding  the  aspects  of  the  inter- 
oceanic  canal  question  from  other  points  of  view  than  our  own,  with 
occasional  objections  or  remarks  thereon.  Let  us  now  look  at  the 
question  from  our  point  of  view.  After  the  adjournment  of  the 
Congress,  it  seemed  to  me  that  its  high  authority,  and  that  of  M.  de 
Lesseps,  who  does  not,  in  the  interview,  overstate  the  confidence  with 
which  he  has  been  regarded  in  France,  would  deprive  many  unfortu- 
nate peasants  of  their  hard  earnings.  What  kind  angel  protected 
them  God  only  knows !  So  far  as  the  English  and  our  countrymen 

signed  to  show  that  the  information  was  sufficient  and  not  contradictory,  the  confusion 
in  his  mind  arising  only  from  a  want  of  comprehension  of  what  was  reliable  and  what 
was  apocryphal. 

The  initiatory  Society  made  "  surveys"  the  value  of  which  at  most  was  to  show  that 
those  which  preceded  them  were  sufficient  and  reliable  within  the  limits  claimed.  At 
the  time  his  "  surveys  "  were  in  progress,  Lieutenant  Wyse,  in  1876-77  and  the  following 
season,  visited  Bogota,  securing  in  the  end  a  concession  which  seems  to  me  to  afford  no 
prospect  of  remunerating  the  constructors  of  the  canal,  even  though  that  route  was  far 
more  favorable  than  appears  to  those  who  made  our  surveys. 

Then  followed  the  calling  of  the  Congress  by  M.  de  Lesseps,  which  gave  authority  to- 
this  scheme.  A  few  days  after  the  adjournment  of  the  "  Congress  "  there  was  a  wrangle 
over  the  partition  of  the  spoils,  and,  as  usual  on  such  occasions,  a  want  of  agreement, 
and  finally  differences  and  recriminations.  In  the  discussion,  which  M.  de  Lesseps. 
insisted  should  be  in  writing,  he  plainly  informed  his  associates  of  his  claims,  growing 
out  of  his  calling  the  "Congress"  and  the  increased  value  of  the  shares  due  to  its 
decision  resulting  from  the  confidence  which  his  support  inspired,  without  which  the 
project  might  have  failed.  As  a  participator  in  the  Congress,  I  can  say  with  all  frank- 
ness that  I  do  not  think  that  he  overstated  the  value  of  his  services.  I  do  not  suppose 
that  he  would  be  willing  to  state  this  as  a  compliment  to  the  many  able  and  excellent 
gentlemen  who,  in  addition  to  other  persons,  gave  him  a  support  in  the  "  Congress." 

Referring  again  to  this  enterprising  Society  and  M.  de  Lesseps,  who  wished  to  become 
the  purchaser  of  their  acquired  "  rights  "  of  concession,  and  by  bargain  with  the  Panama 
Railroad  Company,  fifteen  millions  of  francs  for  the  former  were  demanded,  after  a  con- 
siderable rebate,  through  the  process  of  "  dickering."  To  all  this  M.  de  Lesseps  replied 
resolutely,  ten  millions — not  a  sou  more!  He  would  have  no  joint  stock  ownership  or 
direction,  which  would  seem  to  us  more  emphatic  than  complimentary  to  his  former 
associates.  This  was  passed  over,  however,  as,  after  discussion  among  themselves,  it  was 
determined  that  they  could  not  do  without  M.  de  Lesseps. 

Reluctantly,  then,  for  the  beggarly  sum  of  ten  millions  of  francs,  reduced  to  that 
amount,  as  they  said,  through  his  obstinacy,  they  knocked  down  their  franchise  to  him, 
he,  in  fact,  being  the  only  bidder.  The  part  least  satisfactory  remains  to  be  told — the 
money  has  not  been  paid  up.  M.  de  Lesseps  has,  as  it  were,  the  refusal  of  this  conces- 
sion for  two  years  on  the  basis  of  purchase.  Now,  some  of  the  discontented  and  un- 
reasonable shareholders  repent  of  the  sale  and  desire  the  return  of  the  concession, 
having  the  idea  that  their  interests  have  been  sacrificed.  It  is  almost  wholly  their  affair; 
only  one  American,  a  citizen  of  New  York,  and  a  steady  advocate  of  the  San  Bias  route, 
appeared  on  the  list  as  a  participant  in  their  joys  and  their  sorrows,  so  far  at  least  as  ten 
thousand  francs  are  concerned. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  65 

were  concerned,  the  decision  of  the  Congress  did  not  seem  to  me 
likely  to  inflict  injury  other  than  a  delay  and  an  uncertainty  as  to  the 
time  of  commencement  of  a  great  work. 

In  my  Keport  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  which  many  of  you  have 
doubtless  read,  I  made  the  following  deductions  relating  to  the 
Congress : — 

"  That  personal  interests  arising  from  a  concession  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  canal  are  unfavorable  to  a  relative  consideration  of 
natural  advantages  as  between  two  or  more  routes ;  that  such  personal 
interests  did  exist  was  quite  apparent  from  first  to  last ;  and  the 
'  concession  7  was  frequently  partially  discussed  or  alluded  to,  espe- 
cially in  the  committees  or  sub-committees. 

"That  the  discussion  in  Paris  has  shown  that  hereafter,  in  the 
examination  of  the  question,  only  the  Nicaragua  and  Panama  routes 
need  critical  examination,  and  that  sufficient  information  exists  as  to 
all  other  routes. 

"  That  the  canal  a  niveau  by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  either  with 
or  without  a  tunnel,  has  been  shown  to  be  hopelessly  impracticable,  if 
considered  as  a  commercial  question. 

"  That  a  general  and  special  knowledge  now  exists  among  European 
engineers  relative  to  the  subject  of  a  ship  canal  across  the  American 
continent,  which  did  not  exist  prior  to  the  assemblage  of  the  Congress 
in  Paris. 

"  In  view  of  actualities,  it  seems  proper  that  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  should  consider  the  question  of  the  inter-oceanic 
ship  canal  as  still  undetermined,  notwithstanding  the  Keport  of  its 
Commission  on  the  subject,  which  has  received  acceptance  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  by  our  able  civil  engineers,  inas- 
much as  it  has  not  received  a  criticism. 

"  Should  this  be  regarded  as  advisable,  it  would  seem  necessary  to 
form  a  Commission  of  the  ablest  engineers  of  our  Army,  and  to  invite 
the  ablest  civil  engineers  of  our  country,  and  as  well  invite  all  the 
Governments  who  were  represented  at  the  Congress  in  Paris  to  send 
their  engineers,  all  to  join  in  full  discussion,  and  having  equal  powers, 
with  the  view  of  removing  it  from  all  extraneous  influences,  of '  con- 
cessions/ or  other  objects  than  the  consideration  of  the  construction 
of  a  ship  canal  across  this  continent,  capable  of  fulfilling  the  demands 
of  the  world's  commerce,  under  the  most  economic  conditions." 

I  have  learned  that  the  suggestion  as  to  a  Commission  was  maturely 
considered  by  our  Government,  and  was  regarded  as  unnecessary,  in 
5 


66  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

view  of  a  supposed  unanimity  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  in 
favor  of  the  Nicaragua  route. 

It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  this  fact,  which  I  think  undoubted, 
does  not  do  away  with  the  great  advantage  of  the  discussion  of  the 
subject  by  the  ablest  engineers,  especially  if,  after  a  close  study  of  the 
Nicaragua  and  Panama  routes  as  presented  by  the  surveys,  they 
should  visit  both  localities  for  the  purpose  of  verifying  any  part  of 
the  work  desired,  and  of  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  material 
for  construction,  and  the  methods  which  could  best  be  employed  in 
the  execution  of  the  work.  This  done,  so  far  as  human  action  can 
go,  the  question  will  be  presented  with  the  least  possible  condition  of 
error,  the  locality  where  the  canal  should  be  made,  or  whether  a  canal 
should  be  made  at  all. 

When  it  seemed  to  me  that  our  Government  was  not  disposed  to 
call  a  Commission,  I  wrote,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  gentleman  of  posi- 
tion and  influence,  to  Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  presenting  the  advantage 
that  the  subject  would  derive  from  a  personal  inspection  of  the  Nica- 
ragua and  Panama  routes,  either  by  him,  or  some  able  engineer 
appointed  by  the  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  of  Great  Britain,  accom- 
panied by  another  appointed  by  the  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  of 
France,  and  also  another  by  our  own  Society,  or,  if  our  Government 
thought  proper,  to  detail  General  Weitzel,  U.  S.  Engineers,  or  any 
other  competent  officer  who  had  large  experience  in  hydraulic  works. 
As  yet  I  have  received  no  reply. 

The  public  is  aware  of  the  willingness  of  General  Grant  to  assist 
in  this  great  work,  under  such  conditions  of  organization  of  a  com- 
pany, and  of  a  concession,  as  would  enable  it  to  be  prosecuted  vigor- 
ously and  effectively.  He  has  given  the  subject  his  careful  attention 
for  years ;  is  well  satisfied  as  to  the  route,  which  possesses  a  certainty 
of  realization  by  development ;  he  appreciates  fully  the  great  import- 
ance of  the  construction  of  the  ship  canal  for  the  commerce  of  the 
world,  and  especially  for  the  full  development  of  our  west  coast. 

It  is  gratifying  to  observe  that  there  is  an  universal  expression  of 
opinion  as  to  the  advantage  which  the  construction  of  the  canal  would 
derive  from  having  General  Grant  at  its  head.  The  expression  is 
unanimous  that  it  would  ensure  an  economical,  intelligent,  and  vigor- 
ous prosecution  of  the  work,  and  its  completion  within  the  shortest 
time,  and  that  it  would  have  all  of  the  conditions  of  practical  utility 
and  permanency  that  could  be  secured. 

Recent  information  from  the  most  reliable  sources  gives  the  assur- 
ance that  the  intelligent  people  and  Government  of  Nicaragua  are  in 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  67 

entire  accord  with  this  movement,  and,  instead  of  embarrassing  the 
question  with  impossible  conditions,  will  do  all  in  their  power  to 
forward  the  great  work. 

To  sum  up  the  whole  matter,  we  may  well  desire  that  our  country- 
men should  know  what  canal  route  will  best  serve  the  commerce  of 
the  world,  in  which  our  countrymen  are  so  largely  interested.  This 
is  eminently  a  question  for  the  ablest  engineers  to  pronounce  upon  ; 
exact  information  will  be  presented  in  a  prepared  form  by  Civil 
Engineer  Menocal,  U.  S.  Navy,  for  discussion  by  the  Society  of  Civil 
Engineers  of  the  United  States,  showing  the  quantity  of  work  that 
will  be  found  necessary  on  the  Panama  route  at  the  ocean-level,  and 
also  by  way  of  Lake  Nicaragua,  with  a  lockage  of  107  feet  above  the 
ocean-level.  It  is  really  not  a  question  of  what  we  may  desire,  but 
actually  only  of  what  nature,  whose  forces  are  ceaseless  and  tireless, 
will  permit.  To  enter  into  an  ill-advised  struggle  with  them  is  to 
be  defeated  in  the  end,  at  whatever  cost  or  continued  effort.  The 
labor  and  expense  of  constructing  a  ship  canal  under  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  presented  by  nature  will  be  great,  but  the  result 
attained  will  be  the  grandest  that  man  is  capable  of  achieving  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

Through  this  discussion  we  may  hope  that  all  of  the  advantages,  as 
well  as  difficulties,  positive  and  relative,  on  these  routes,  will  be  fairly 
developed,  not  upon  fanciful  presentations,  but  upon  sufficient 
information  through  calculations. 

I  have  taxed  your  patience  in  an  endeavor  to  show  the  present 
aspect  of  the  ship  canal  question,  and  have  now  only  to  point  to  the 
importance  of  the  forthcoming  calculations  in  detail,  and  the  irre- 
fragable results  obtainable  from  their  full  and  fair  discussion. 

[The  greater  portion  of  the  foregoing  paper  was  read  on  the  eve- 
ning of  the  9th  of  December,  1879,  before  a  large  and  very  repre- 
sentative assembly  of  the  American  Geographical  Society  and  its 
visitors  by  Colonel  Theodorus  Bailey  Myers,  of  the  Council  of  the 
Society.  After  expressing  his  regret  that  Eear- Admiral  Ammen  was 
unable  to  be  present  in  person,  and  stating  that  his  paper  had  been 
forwarded  before  the  opening  meeting,  but  was  deferred  to  that  of 
the  Earl  of  Dunraven,  who  was  in  haste  to  return  to  England, 
Colonel  Myers  further  prefaced  the  reading  of  the  paper  with  the 
following  remarks: — 

"  It  seems  proper  to  make  an  explanation  on  behalf  of  the  Council 
of  the  position  of  the  Society  on  the  inter-oceanic  canal  question.  Its 


68  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

hall  and  Journal  have  been  open  for  years  for  its  discussion. 
Foreseeing  that  all  attainable  information  on  the  subject  would  soon 
be  necessary,  a  Committee  of  the  Council,  consisting  of  Mr.  Clarence 
King  (Director  of  the  United  States  Survey),  Mr.  Francis  A.  Stout, 
(Commissioner  for  the  New  York  State  Survey),  and  myself,  by  memo- 
rial and  personal  attendance  at  Washington,  urged  Congress,  last 
winter,  to  print  the  surveys  and  statistics  connected  with  the  Gov- 
ernment work  on  the  Panama  and  Atrato-Napipi  routes  executed  long 
before.  This  was  only  completed  in  a  temporary  form  in  time  for  the 
use  of  the  Congress  at  Paris,  and  has  recently  been  officially  pub- 
lished. Access  to  it  could  not  be  had  by  the  Society  before  that 
time,  and  was  refused  to  individuals.  In  sending  representatives  to 
that  Congress,  the  Society,  therefore,  claimed  to  take  no  part  in  the 
decision  of  an  important  question,  of  the  merits  of  which,  for  these 
reasons,  they  could  be  but  partially  informed,  but  only  as  an  appre- 
ciation of  its  importance,  and  to  acquire  information.  Naturally  they 
could  not  express  an  opinion  without  the  time  for  study  of  prior  de- 
tails, nor  could  they  expect  that  their  representatives,  during  its  brief 
and  exciting  session,  should  become  able  to  do  so.  Two  of  these 
representatives  have  since  given  to  the  public  their  conflicting  views 
on  the  plan  presented  by  M.  de  Lesseps, — Dr.  William  E.  Johnston, 
residing  in  Paris,  by  his  able  written  report  to  our  President,  Chief- 
Justice  Daly,  received  in  the  vacation,  and  printed  in  the  Journal  and 
through  the  press ;  and  Mr.  Nathan  Appleton,  in  reading  at  about  the 
same  time  a  paper  before  the  Board  of  Trade,  supplemented  by  a 
communication  to  be  read  this  evening. 

"  Rear- Admiral  Ammen,  as  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Navigation, 
having  been  charged  with  the  fitting  out  of  the  American  explora- 
tions, and  as  a  member  of  a  Commission  formed  by  the  Government 
for  the  consideration  of  its  plans,  having  studied  their  results,  has 
labored  under  no  such  difficulties.  Those  who  know  his  capacity  and 
devotion  to  any  duty  will  believe  his  to  be  at  least  an  educated 
opinion.  Knowing  that  other  conclusions  will  be  advanced,  he  has 
authorized  me  to  say  that  he  is  prepared  to  sustain  it,  and  to  reply  to 
them  if  brought  to  his  attention  in  the  public  press  that  he  considers 
the  subject  worthy  of  exhaustive,  if  competent,  discussion. 

"  On  one  so  important,  those  present  will,  it  is  hoped,  patiently 
submit  to  an  extended  discussion,  caused  by  a  desire  to  entertain  all 
opinions,  and  open  its  merits  to  a  free  investigation."] 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  69 


INSTRUCTIONS  TO  REAR-ADMIRAL  DANIEL  AMMEN 
AND  CIVIL  ENGINEER  A.  G.  MENOCAL,  U.  S.  N., 
DELEGATES  ON  THE  PART  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  TO  THE  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL  CON- 
GRESS, HELD  AT  PARIS,  MAY,  1879,  AND  REPORTS 
OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

MR.  EVARTS  TO  REAR-ADMIRAL  AMMEN. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  -STATE, 

WASHINGTON,  April  19,  1879. 

REAR-ADMIRAL  DANIEL  AMMEN,  U.  S.  N.,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. : 

SIR  : — The  President  having  appointed  you  to  be  a  Commissioner 
on  behalf  of  the  United  States  to  attend  an  International  Conference, 
which  is  to  assemble  at  Paris  on  the  15th  of  May  proximo,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  Paris,  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  the  various  projects  of  an  inter-oceanic  canal  across  the 
American  Isthmus,  I  have  the  honor  to  acquaint  you  officially  with 
the  fact  of  such  appointment.  It  is  also  incumbent  upon  me  to  give 
you  certain  instructions  for  your  guidance  in  the  execution  of  the 
President's  wishes. 

The  importance  and  magnitude  of  the  projected  enterprise  are  such 
as  to  command  earnest  attention,  especially  on  the  part  of  those 
countries  whose  trade  is  to  be  affected  in  a  marked  degree  by  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  scheme.  This  Government,  in  the  interest  of 
its  rapidly  growing  commerce,  not  only  between  its  own  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  shores,  but  wTith  the  other  American  States  on  the  western 
coast  of  the  continent,  deems  it  advisable  to  keep  itself  well  informed 
on  the  subject,  and  also  to  give  any  useful  information  in  relation 
thereto  to  other  Governments  interested  in  the  scheme  of  inter-oceanic 
communication. 

You  are  accordingly  instructed  to  attend  the  Conference  of  the 
International  Commission  concerning  the  opening  of  an  inter-oceanic 
canal  through  the  American  Isthmus,  to  be  held  at  Paris  next  month, 
and  you  will  be  expected  to  carefully  watch  its  progress  and  results, 
.and  report  them  to  your  Government.  You  will  take  part  in  the 
discussions  of  the  Conference,  and  will  communicate  such  scientific, 


70  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

geographical,  mathematical,  or  other  information  as  you  may  possess, 
and  as  is  desired  or  deemed  important.  In  this  work  you  will  be 
assisted  by  Civil  Engineer  Anecito  G.  Menocal,  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  who  has  been  detailed  and  appointed  a  Commissioner  for  the 
purpose,  with  like  powers. 

You  will,  however,  have  no  official  powers  or  diplomatic  functions. 
You  will  hold  no  official  communication  with  the  officers  of  the 
French  Government,  except  such  as  may,  by  virtue  of  their  connec- 
tion with  the  French  Geographical  Society,  or  as  delegates  ad  hoe, 
take  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Conference.  You  are  not  author- 
ized to  state  what  will  be  the  decision  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  in  regard  to  the  points  involved,  or  the  line  of  action  it 
will  pursue. 

The  Conference  is  understood  to  be  not  one  of  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives of  the  respective  Governments,  but  rather*a  gathering  of 
scientific  men  and  public  officers  whose  experience  and  research 
render  it  desirable  that  they  should  have  an  opportunity  for  the 
exchange  of  information  and  of  views.  Your  well-known  wide 
acquaintance  with  the  subject  proposed  to  be  discussed  makes  it 
peculiarly  fitting  that  you  should  be  selected  to  meet  other  distin- 
guished engineers  and  officers  who  have  given  like  attention  to  the 
matter. 

You  are  furnished  herewith  with  such  documents  and  records  as 
the  files  of  this  and  other  departments  contain  that  may  be  of  interest 
and  importance.  Your  own  long  familiarity  with  the  subject  and 
careful  study  of  it  in  all  its  bearings  render  it  unnecessary  to  give  you 
further  instructions  on  this  point. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  M.  EVAETS. 


REAR-ADMIRAL  AMMEN  TO  MR.  EVARTS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  21,  1879. 

SIR  : — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  Civil  Engineer  A.  G. 
Menocal  and  myself  reached  Paris  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  of 
May,  and  lost  no  time  in  paying  our  respects  to  M.  Ferdinand  de 
Lesseps,  upon  whose  invitation,  as  President  of  the  Geographical 
Societies  of  Paris,  the  Department  was  pleased  to  direct  our  attend- 
ance at  the  convocation  on  Mav  15th. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  71 

We  were  received  by  M.  de  Lesseps  with  great  courtesy,  who  spoke 
of  the  very  general  attendance  of  different  nationalities,  and  his  gratifi- 
cation thereat.  A  general  and  agreeable  conversation  occurred  relating 
to  the  inter-oceanic  canal  question. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  15th  the  convocation  was  called  to  order, 
in  the  building  of  the  Geographical  Society,  by  Vice- Admiral  Ron- 
ciere  le  Noury.  After  a  few  remarks,  he  turned  over  to  M.  de 
Lesseps  the  office  of  presiding,  who  made  some  remarks,  and  was 
followed  by  M.  Bionne,  the  Secretary  of  the  Society,  who  read  a  paper 
on  "  The  State  of  the  Inter-Oceanic  Canal  Question." 

The  organization  was  then  completed,  five  vice-presidents  appointed, 
I  being  named  first  and  seated  on  the  right  of  M.  de  Lesseps. 

After  a  call  of  the  members,  an  assignment  to  committees  was 
made,  all  of  which  will  appear  in  full  on  the  journal  of  the  proceed- 
ings when  published. 

The  assemblage  was  then  adjourned  to  meet  as  committees  at 
9  A.M.  on  the  following  day  (16th),  no  general  session  to  occur  until 
Monday,  May  19th. 

The  technical  question  on  the  16th  was  discussed  in  the  large  hall 
in  which  the  assemblage  had  been  organized  the  previous  day. 
M.  Doubree,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  called  upon  me  to 
produce  the  maps  and  plans  brought  by  us ;  owing  to  the  weight  of 
the  package  it  had  been  sent  by  express,  and  did  not  arrive  in  time 
for  presentation  until  the  following  morning.  In  the  meantime 
Commander  Selfridge,  U.  S.  N.,  had  the  attention  of  the  Committee, 
and  presented  his  "  plan  and  estimates,"  based  upon  the  surveys  of 
Lieutenant  Frederick  Collins,  U.  S.  N.,  over  a  region  known  as  the 
Atrato-Napipi  route.  A  preliminary  instrumental  examination  of 
the  bed  of  the  Napipi  River  had  been  made  prior  to  this  survey  by 
Commander  Selfridge,  upon  which  he  had  based  a  supposititious  loca- 
tion, and  made  "  estimates "  without  ever  having  been  over  the 
ground. 

At  two  o'clock,  when  the  Committee  again  met,  I  stated  that  there 
was  no  one  to  whom  we  were  more  indebted  than  to  the  able  and 
energetic  officer  who  had  just  concluded,  for  the  examination  of  lines 
extending  over  a  wide  region,  and  requiring  great  labor  and  privation 
to  execute.  So  far,  however,  as  the  route  was  concerned,  I  had  to 
say  that  the  survey  and  the  discussion  of  that  route  had  been  made 
by  Lieutenant  Collins  himself,  who  was  not  the  inferior  to  any  officer 
of  our  Navy.  He  had  been  placed  in  communication  with  the  ablest 
civil  engineers  in  our  country,  from  whom  he  had  advice  and  assist- 


72  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

ance ;  the  official  maps,  plans,  estimates,  and  reports  made  by  him 
formed  a  part  of  the  information  which  it  was  my  duty  to  lay  before 
the  Congress.  I  was  sorry  to  add  that  they  were  not  as  favorable  to 
the  execution  of  the  work,  and  as  to  cost,  as  that  which  had  been 
presented  by  Commander  Selfridge.  He  replied,  stating  that  Lieu- 
tenant Collins  had  been  his  subordinate  for  three  seasons,  and  had 
been  again  sent  to  that  region  at  his  (Selfridge's)  request ;  that  he  had 
supposed,  in  the  development  of  the  plans,  he  would  be  consulted ;  as 
he  was  not,  he  had  requested  the  data,  and  had  made  his  plans.  I 
could  have  replied  very  properly  and  satisfactorily,  but  did  not  out 
of  respect  to  the  time  and  character  of  the  persons  composing  the 
Committee. 

On  the  following  morning,  May  17th,  I  read  my  paper,  which  had 
been  submitted  for  your  revisal.  Mr.  Menocal  then  very  clearly  and 
ably  presented  the  survey  of  the  Nicaragua  route,  and  explained 
several  of  the  methods  by  which  he  proposed  to  overcome  difficulties 
in  the  execution  of  the  work,  particularly  as  to  the  improvement  of 
the  harbor  of  Grey  town,  and  as  to  the  foundation  and  construction  of 
the  different  dams ;  and  finally,  in  answer  to  whatever  difficulties 
were  suggested.  There  was  evident  surprise  on  the  part  of  very  able 
and  competent  engineers  at  the  cleverness  in  design  and  completeness 
of  detail  for  execution  of  what  had  been  presented,  and  he  received 
warm  congratulations.  This  presentation  occupied  several  hours. 

The  afternoon  was  taken  up  by  Lieutenant  L.  N.  B.  Wyse,  of  the 
French  Navy,  who  placed  on  the  stand  for  explanation  his  develop- 
ment for  a  canal  in  the  vicinity  of  the  line  of  the  Panama  Railroad. 
I  was  not  surprised  at  this  change  of  base  from  the  Tuyra-Tupisa 
route,  having  read  his  last  Report,  which  was  given  me  two  days 
before.  His  discourse  was  general,  and  referred  to  all  of  the  proposed 
lines,  and  occasionally  something  about  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 

M.  Felix  Belly,  whose  name  will  be  remembered  in  connection 
with  the  Nicaragua  route  in  1858,  then  claimed  the  attention  of  the 
Committee. 

On  Monday,  May  19th,  a  general  session  was  held,  and  several 
reports  of  the  committees  read,  copies  of  which  will  be  procured  when 
possible  and  sent  to  the  State  Department. 

Sir  John  Hawkshaw  arrived,  much  to  my  gratification ;  his 
authority  as  an  engineer  is  of  the  highest  order.  With  men  present 
of  his  reputation,  character,  and  ability,  the  discussion  of  the  question 
will  be  of  great  prospective  value,  whatever  the  Congress  may  fail  to 
decide,  or,  rather,  determine. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  73 

The  afternoon  was  taken  up  by  alternate  explanations  of  Lieu- 
tenants Wyse  and  Reclus,  of  the  French  Navy,  in  their  development 
of  a  ship  canal  in  the  vicinity  and  along  the  general  line  of  the 
Panama  Railroad  a  niveau,  that  is  to  say,  on  the  ocean-level,  with 
and  without  a  tunnel,  and  as  well  in  stating  objections  at  any  time  to 
the  Nicaragua  route.  They  were  prolix,  and  their  data  were  not  at 
all  sufficient,  being,  in  fact,  mainly  on  the  railroad  line  levels,  and  a 
few  cross  sections  run  by  Lieutenant  Reclus.  From  the  fact  that 
Lieutenant  Wyse  had  quite  abandoned  even  the  discussion  of  the 
Tuyra-Tupisa  route  and  taken  up  the  line  of  the  Panama  Railroad, 
the  cause  of  his  anxiety  in  February  last,  when  in  the  United  States, 
to  obtain  our  surveys  of  that  canal  route  became  quite  apparent. 

On  Tuesday,  May  20th,  a  general  session  was  held.  Commander 
Selfridge  had  the  floor  again  to  finish,  as  he  said,  his  explanation  of 
the  Atrato-Napipi  route,  which  continued  for  two  hours. 

When  he  concluded,  I  stated  that  I  had  the  very  carefully  prepared 
development  of  Lieutenant  Collinses  surveys,  which  was  an  actual 
location  made  by  that  very  able  officer,  and  was  over  the  route  which 
Commander  Selfridge  discussed ;  that  Collinses  plans  and  estimates 
had  been  made  after  consultation  with  able  engineers,  and  that,  when 
the  opportunity  offered,  I  would  present  them  in  detail.  They, 
however,  did  not  present  the  favorable  features  for  canalization  which 
were  assumed  to  exist  by  Commander  Selfridge. 

Mr.  Menocal  was  then  invited  to  explain  the  surveys  and  plans  of 
the  Panama  route,  which  he  did  with  great  clearness,  evidently  much 
to  the  satisfaction  of  Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  so  far,  at  least,  as  a 
comprehension  of  the  points  involved  was  concerned.  He  exposed 
the  hopelessness  of  an  attempt  to  make  a  ship  canal  on  that  route 
d  niveau;  pointed  out,  beyond  controversy,  that  if  so  made  there 
would  be  a  cataract  of  the  River  Chagres  at  Matachin  of  42  feet, 
which  in  periods  of  floods  would  be  78  feet  high,  of  a  body  of  water 
that  would  be  36  feet  deep,  with  a  width  of  1500  feet. 

The  surprise  and  painful  emotion  on  the  part  of  those  who  had 
plans  d  niveau,  and  of  their  very  many  friends  in  attendance,  can 
hardly  be  conceived.  The  fact  stared  them  in  the  face  that  the  plans 
which  they  had  presented  so  confidently  for  adoption  were  absolutely 
impracticable.  There  was,  however,  after  a  clay  or  so,  a  presentation 
of  "  plans "  and  estimates  of  the  cost  of  execution,  quite  independent 
of  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  topography  upon  which  only  could 
they  be  properly  based. 

Mr.  Menocal  went  on  to  explain  how  a  water  supply  was  obtaina- 


74  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

ble,  and  that,  owing  to  the  floods  of  the  Chagres  River,  it  was 
impossible  to  lower  the  bottom  of  the  canal  below  the  height  of  the 
aqueduct,  as  proposed  by  him,  crossing  the  river  at  Matachin. 

When  he  concluded  his  presentation  of  the  Panama  route,  he  stated 
that  he  would  be  happy  to  answer  any  questions  which  might  be 
proposed.  Not  a  question  was  asked,  although  when  he  commenced 
he  was  so  interrupted  that  Sir  John  Hawkshaw  suggested  that  he 
should  be  allowed  to  proceed  without  interruption,  and  make  expla- 
nations afterward.  An  adjournment  occurred  soon  after  until  2  P.  M. 

I  learned  from  Mr.  Menocal  that  at  the  meeting  of  the  Committee 
in  the  afternoon  great  confusion  and  violent  actions  preceded  the 
appointment  of  two  sub-committees,  the  one  to  report  on  tunnels, 
such  as  proposed  by  Lieutenant  Wyse  on  the  Panama  route,  the 
other  to  discuss  the  question  of  the  practicability  of  canal  locks,  as 
proposed  on  the  Nicaragua  route.  Preceding  and  during  the  forma- 
tion of  the  committees,  there  was,  on  the  one  hand,  a  strong  demand 
that  Mr.  Menocal  should  be  on  the  Committee  of  Locks,  and,  on  the 
other,  a  violent  demand  that  he  should  not  be.  Very  properly,  in 
my  opinion,  he  requested  that  he  should  not  be  appointed.  After  the 
committees  were  made,  however,  the  one  referred  to  demanded  of  the 
Chairman  the  attendance  of  Mr.  Menocal,  which  was  formally  granted. 

On  the  21st  a  general  session  occurred,  and  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Tunneling  was  read ;  this  Committee  was  composed  of  the 
ablest  engineers  in  Europe  in  that  branch  of  engineering.  A  copy  of 
that  Report  will  at  the  earliest  date  be  obtained  and  sent  to  the 
Department. 

It  is  sufficient  to  state  in  brief  that  it  arrived  at  the  impracticability, 
at  whatever  cost,  of  constructing  a  tunnel  d  niveau,  that  is  to  say,  to 
secure  navigable  waters  at  the  ocean-level. 

Sir  John  Hawkshaw  then  proceeded  with  brevity  and  great  force  to 
give  his  views  on  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  at  the  ocean-level, 
as  proposed  by  Lieutenant  Wyse,  along  the  general  line  of  the  Panama 
Railroad.  A  copy  of  his  remarks  is  appended,  marked  A.  I  may 
properly  add  that  the  report  of  the  sub-committee  on  tunneling  before 
referred  to,  as  well  as  the  deductions  of  Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  support 
fully  the  ideas  advanced  in  my  paper,  read  before  the  American  Geo- 
graphical Society  of  New  York  in  November  last,  as  to  a  canal  and 
tunnel  d  niveau. 

In  commenting  upon  the  proposed  tunnel,  Sir  John  remarked  that 
considered  as  a  culvert,  and  taking  the  volume  of  Water  as  given  by 
Lieutenant  Reclus  in  periods  of  floods,  which  was  much  less  than 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  75 

given  by  Mr.  Menocal,  it  would  require  at  least  another  tunnel  of  the 
same  dimensions  to  serve  as  culverts  to  pass  the  water. 

Lieutenant  Reclus  then  began  an  argument  in  a  desultory  way,  and 
when  the  Chairman  requested  that  he  would  confine  himself  to  the 
subject  under  discussion,  Lieutenant  Wyse  in  a  very  excited  manner 
said  their  plans  were  constantly  attacked,  and  they  were  not  permitted 
to  defend  them. 

Commander  Selfridge  then  said  that  the  remarks  made  by  Sir  John 
Hawkshaw  in  relation  to  the  Chagres  River  were  not  applicable  to 
the  Atrato-Napipi  route,  and  endeavored  to  enter  into  a  further  dis- 
cussion of  its  merits.  I  stated  that  I  would  suggest  the  advantage  of 
discussing  the  carefully  prepared  plans  of  Lieutenant  Collins  along 
the  lines  of  actual  location,  which  were  the  best  that  could  be  found 
in  months  of  labor,  instead  of  lines  drawn  at  will  by  Commander 
Selfridge,  involving  uncertainty  of  execution  and  an  entire  absence  of 
elements*  of  calculation,  as  every  engineer  would  recognize.  The 
meeting  then  adjourned. 

On  the  22d  the  sub-committees  were  in  session,  and  Mr.  Menocal 

'    i 

was  in  attendance  to  give  such  information  as  was  required. 

At  9  A.  M.  of  the  23d  a  general  session  occurred.  After  the  usual 
preliminary  proceedings  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Navigation 
was  read.  A  somewhat  lengthy  address  was  then  made  by  the  Presi- 
dent, M.  de  Lesseps,  partly  in  reply  or  in  relation  to  some  preceding 
remarks  of  other  speakers,  and  partly  in  relation  independently  to  the 
inter-oceanic  canal  question,  the  full  import  of  which  can  only  be 
known  when  it  can  be  carefully  read. 

This  was  replied  to  with  some  warmth  by  Mr.  Peralta,  the  minister 
of  Costa  Rica  to  the  United  States,  after  which  Commander  Selfridge 
arose  and  stated  that  as  an  American  citizen  he  protested  against  the 
supposition  being  entertained  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  had 
any  preference  between  three  or  four  inter-oceanic  canal  routes  ;  that 
they  would  accept  truly  and  loyally  whatever  decision  was  arrived  at 
by  this  Congress,  in  whose  wisdom  they  would  have  full  faith.  I 
made  no  reply,  inasmuch  as  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  explain,  as 
well  as  unimportant,  how  far  his  assertion  was  correct  or  the  reverse. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  as  the  sub-committees  were  at  work,. 
I  thought  it  worth  while  to  say  formally  to  their  chairmen  that  I  had 
no  objection  to  the  Atrato-Napipi  route  being  presented  by  Com- 
mander Selfridge,  provided  its  consideration  was  made  upon  the  actual 
lines  of  location  made  by  Lieutenant  Collins,  who  had  spent  months 
in  making  them,  and  that  they  were  undoubtedly  the  best  that  the 


76  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

nature  of  the  country  permitted.  Seeing  Commander  Selfridge  in 
the  presence  of  Mr.  Jackson,  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Congress,  I 
asked  his  attention  whilst  I  stated  the  preceding  facts  for  transmission 
through  the  secretary  to  the  sub-committees. 

Commander  Selfridge  stated  that  he  was  a  member  of  this  Congress, 
invited  by  M.  de  Lesseps ;  that  when  before  the  committees  he  had 
pointed  out  "  where  he  diverged  from  Lieutenant  Collins's  lines  to  get 
a  little  nearer  the  river  and  thus  diminish  the  cutting,  and  that  he 
thought  his  opinion  better  than  mine,  as  I  had  never  been  in  that 
region."  I  replied  that  my  opinion  was  based  upon  the  careful  in- 
strumental location  of  lines  made  by  Lieutenant  Collins,  and  his 
opinion  was  based  upon  drawing  lines  at  will  for  discussion. 

Owing  to  proposed  modifications  by  the  technical  sub-committees  of 
the  cross-sections,  locks,  and  other  conditions  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal, 
Mr.  Menocal  was  kept  very  closely  employed  in  making  them,  and 
was  most  efficiently  aided  by  Lieutenant-Commander  Gorringe,  United 
States  Navy,  who  opportunely  was  passing  through  Paris,  under 
orders  for  home.  At  my  request  lie  kindly  tarried  as  long  as  neces- 
sary. 

Sunday,  May  25,  was  busily  employed  by  the  sub-committees  in 
calculations  to  meet  requirements  of  construction  other  than  those 
officially  presented  by  us. 

On  Monday,  May  26,  the  technical  sub-committees  reported  to  the 
full  Committee.  There  was,  however,  a  very  general  attendance  of 
delegates  who  did  not  belong  to  the  Committee,  and  a  very  great  deal 
of  interest  and  feeling  manifested,  amounting,  at  times,  to  disorder, 
when  the  reports  were  read.  I  visited  the  room  both  in  the  morning 
and  afternoon  session,  but  preferred  to  be  generally  absent. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  a  general  sitting  occurred,  and  the 
statistical  aud  other  reports  wrere  read,  after  which  an  adjournment 
took  place,  the  Technical  Committee  to  meet  at  2  P.  M.,  which  meeting 
I  did  not  attend.  I  was  informed,  however,  that  the  able  engineers 
were  very  generally  in  favor  of  the  Nicaragua  route,  and  that  nearly, 
if  not  all,  of  the  French  delegates,  other  than  the  engineers,  were  in 
favor  of  the  Panama  route.  As  it  is  eminently  a  question  for  en- 
gineers to  settle,  the  votes  of  other  persons  would  seem  to  me  to  have 
significance  rather  as  to  to  personal  interest  than  to  relative  practica- 
bility of  routes  considered  on  their  abstract  merits. 

From  the  first  sitting  it  was  quite  apparent  that  there  were  two 
parties  of  what  we  would  call  "  speculators,"  the  one  represented  by  Mr. 
Blanchet,  who  had  an  unconfirmed  grant  from  the  Nicaraguan  Gov- 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  77 

eminent,  and  Lieutenant  Wyse,  of  the  French  Navy,  who  had  a  grant 
from  the  Colombian  Government,  embracing,  with  a  reservation,  the 
right  to  construct  a  ship  canal  over  any  part  of  her  territory,  the  re- 
servation applying,  as  I  understand  it,  to  the  already  conceded  right 
of  the  Panama  Railroad.  The  presumed  grant  to  Lieutenant  Wyse 
was  published  in  the  New  York  Herald  nearly  one  year  ago.  Lieu- 
tenant Wyse  has  the  powerful  support  of  M.  de  Lesseps.  I  need 
hardly  add  that  through  the  geographical  societies  of  Paris,  and  the 
method  of  appointing  "  delegates"  to  the  Congress,  the  latter  is  quite 
able  to  have  any  desired  majority  on  a  vote  relating  to  the  respective 
merits  of  the  Nicaragua  and  Panama  routes. 

The  advocates  of  the  Nicaragua  route  were  disposed  to  regard  Mr. 
Menocal  and  myself  as  an  accession  to  their  ranks,  a  position  that  we 
have  persistently  refused  to  accept,  recognizing  the  fact  that  the  mere 
preference  of  opinion  in  relation  to  the  superiority  of  the  Nicaragua 
route  did  not  make  it  a  duty  to  become  advocates  except  by  inference, 
and  the  presentation  of  facts  which  would  support  that  opinion.  The 
absence  of  exact  information,  and  perhaps  the  prejudices  of  the  ablest 
as  well  as  of  the  engineers  in  general  present  in  the  beginning  of  the 
discussion,  at  least  made  them  the  tacit  supporters  of  the  ideas  of  M, 
de  Lesseps  as  to  a  canal  a  nibeau.  It  was  quite  apparent,  as  the  routes 
were  presented  and  discussed,  that  the  able  engineers  generally  ranged 
themselves  on  the  side  of  the  Nicaragua  route.  The  very  able  presen- 
tation of  both  routes  by  Mr.  Menocal,  and  the  opinion  expressed  by 
Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  quite  disturbed  the  equilibrium  of  the  Panama 
route  advocates,  as  will  appear  when  the  reports  of  the  sub-committees 
are  published  and  come  to  hand. 

On  the  28th  of  May  the  technical  sub-committee  met  to  discuss  a 
new  "  plan"  based  upon  making  a  high  dam,  higher  in  fact  than  the 
surface  of  Lake  Nicaragua  above  the  ocean-level,  at  some  point  across 
the  Chagres  River,  with  the  intention  of  flooding  a  considerable  tract 
of  land  in  forming  a  large  lake,  and  thus  ameliorating  the  destructive 
effects  of  floods.  Ten  days  before,  this  idea  had  not  entered  the  mind 
of  man  ;  it  was  in  effect  the  resultant  of  the  exposition  that  the  canal 
a  niveau  was  hopelessly  impossible  without  amelioration  and  that  no 
other  solution  exists  along  that  route  except  the  adoption  of  the  plan 
of  canal  presented  by  Mr.  Menocal  at  a  height  sufficient  to  allow  the 
Chagres  to  discharge  its  floods  beneath  the  aqueduct.  Of  course,  the 
serious  consideration  of  such  a  work  as  forming  this  large  artificial 
lake  could  only  be  made  properly,  after  a  very  thorough  examination 
of  the  topography  at  points  most  favorable  for  natural  abutments,  as 


78  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

to  height  and  length  of  dam  required,  and  above  all  as  to  foundation. 
In  presenting  the  case,  however,  to  spare  it  from  ridicule,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  assume  that  a  canal  d  niveau  is  the  demand  of  the  commerce 
of  the  world  at  any  cost.  Whatever  possibilities  a  special  and  close 
survey  may  develop,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  natural  conditions  are 
now  unknown  upon  which  the  predications  of  these  "  plans77  are  based. 

In  the  discussion  of  a  sub-committee,  M.  Gauthiot  stated  that  the 
tolls  of  a  vessel  of  4500  tons  through  the  Suez  Canal  would  be  45,000 
francs,  but  through  the  proposed  Panama  Canal  they  would  be  120,- 
000  francs.  Not  having  further  information  on  the  subject,  I  pre- 
sume this  to  be  the  fact,  the  more  as  Lieutenant  "Wyse,  who  secured 
the  concession,  spoke  of  the  faculty  of  charging  20  or  30  francs  per 
ton,  which,  if  established,  would  virtually  exclude  a  ship  laden  with 
grain  bound  from  San  Francisco  to  Europe. 

It  seems  apparent  to  me  that  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  should 
be  regarded  simply  as  a  commercial  question;  that  very  high  tolls 
would,  in  a  great  degree,  take  away  from  its  usefulness,  and  were  a 
canal  constructed  across  the  American  continent  by  persons  who  had 
dominant  interests  in  the  Suez  Canal,  the  American  Canal  would  be 
subordinated  to  the  interests  of  the  Suez  Canal.  Thus,  with  a  difference 
of  tolls  as  above  given,  all  vessels  from  •  Northern  China  and  Japan 
bound  to  Europe  would  pass  through  the  Suez  Canal,  and  all  vessels 
bound  for  our  Atlantic  coasts  would  pass  through  the  canal  across  this 
continent  at  rates  which  w^ould  nullify  in  a  great  degree  the  proposed 
commercial  benefit. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  M.  de  Lesseps  held  a  meeting  of  the 
vice-presidents  and  other  persons  to  determine  the  manner  of  voting 
and  to  submit  the  reading  of  the  Report  of  the  Technical  Committee, 
as  also  a  resolution.  There  was  a  long  discussion,  and  it  was  at  length 
agreed  upon  that  in  addition  to  a  single  vote  on  the  resolution  to  be 
submitted  to  the  Congress  of  yes  or  no,  or  of  abstaining  from  voting, 
any  delegate  should  be  permitted  within  three  days  to  give,  in 
writing,  for  record,  the  reasons  which  governed  his  action. 

At  1.30  the  final  full  meeting  of  the  Congress  took  place ;  the  Re- 
port, resume,  and  resolution  were  read,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  taken 
on  the  latter,  resulting  in  a  vote  of  abstention  of  98  members,  out  of 
135  as  given  in  the  list — 75  voting  yes,  8  no,  and  16  abstaining.  The 
character  of  the  voters  and  those  who  absented  themselves  will  appear 
in  the  Report  of  Civil  Engineer  Menocal.  I  abstained  from  voting  on 
the  ground  that  "  only  able  engineers  can  form  an  opinion,  after  care- 
ful study,  of  what  is  actually  possible,  and  what  is  relatively  economi- 
cal, in  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal." 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  79 

The  text  of  the  resolution  is  as  follows : — 

Le  Congres  estime  que  le  percement  d'un  canal  interoceanique  a  niveau  constant,  si 
desirable  dans  1'interet  clu  commerce  et  de  la  navigation  est  possible,  et  que  le  canal 
maritime  pour  repondre  aux  faciltes  indispensables  d'acces  et  d'utilization  qui  doit  offrir 
avant  tout  un  passage  de  ce  genre  devra  etre  dirige  du  Golfe  de  Simon  a  la  baie  de 
Panama. 

The  hall  was  densely  crowded,  many  ladies  being  present ;  about 
one  hundred  members  or  delegates  and  three  to  four  hundred  other 
persons :  whenever  a  vote  of  "  yes"  wTas  given,  especially  by  some  one 
who  had  more  or  less  opposed  the  conclusion,  a  very  enthusiastic  clap- 
ping of  hands  occurred  which  would  hardly  have  been  the  case  had 
the  audience  regarded  the  selection  as  depending  wholly  on  natural 
conditions  or  advantages,  or  on  physical  causes.  The  Congress  then 
adjourned. 

It  is  proper  to  acknowledge  the  courtesy  and  consideration  shown 
to  myself  and  to  Mr.  Menocal  by  M.  de  Lesseps  and  by  many  of  the 
delegates,  many  of  whom  were  gentlemen  of  eminence,  as  M.  Ceresole, 
late  President  of  the  Helvetic  Confederacy. 

The  conclusions  deducible  from  the  above  I  regard  as  follows : — 

That  personal  interests  arising  from  a  concession  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  canal  are  unfavorable  to  a  relative  consideration  of  natural 
advantages  as  between  two  or  more  routes  ;  that  such  personal  interests 
did  exist  was  quite  apparent  from  first  to  last ;  and  the  "  concession" 
was  frequently  partially  discussed  or  alluded  to,  especially  in  the  com- 
mittees or  sub-committees. 

That  the  discussion  in  Paris  has  shown  that  hereafter  in  the  ex- 
amination of  the  question  only  the  Nicaragua  and  Panama  routes  need 
critical  examination,  and  that  sufficient  information  exists  as  to  all 
other  routes. 

That  the  canal  a  niveau  by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  either  with  or 
without  a  tunnel,  has  been  shown  to  be  hopelessly  impracticable,  if 
considered  as  a  commercial  question* 

That  a  general  and  special  knowledge  now  exists  among  European 
engineers  relative  to  the  subject  of  a  ship  canal  across  the  American 
continent,  which  did  not  exist  prior  to  the  assemblage  of  the  Congress 
in  Paris. 

In  view  of  actualities,  it  seems  proper  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  should  consider  the  question  of  the  inter-oceanic  ship 
oanal  as  still  undetermined  notwithstanding  the  Report  of  its  Commis- 
sion on  the  subject;  which  has  received  acceptance  by  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  and  by  our  able  civil  engineers,  inasmuch  as  it  has 
not  received  a  criticism. 


80  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

Should  this  be  regarded  as  advisable,  it  would  seem  necessary  to 
form  a  Commission  of  the  ablest  engineers  of  our  Army,  and  to  invite 
the  ablest  civil  engineers  of  our  country,  and  as  well  invite  all  the 
governments  who  were  represented  at  the  Congress  in  Paris  to  send 
their  engineers,  all  to  join  in  full  discussion,  and  having  equal  powers, 
with  the  view  of  removing  it  from  all  extraneous  influences,  of  "  con- 
cessions," or  other  objects  than  the  consideration  of  the  construction 
of  a  ship  canal  across  this  continent,  capable  of  fulfilling  the  demands 
of  the  world's  commerce,  under  the  most  economic  conditions. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

DAN'L  AMMEN, 

Rear-Admiral  United  States  Navy. 
Hon.  WM.  M.  EVARTS, 

Secretary  of  State. 


REMARKS  OF  SIR  JOHN  HAWKSHAW  AT  THE  INTER-OCEANIC  CANAL 
CONGRESS   IN    PARIS,   MAY,    1879. 

(A.) 

With  regard  to  the  question  whether  the  canal  should  be  constructed  with  or  without 
locks,  the  following  points  occur  to  me  : — 

If  the  canal  is  to  be  without  locks  its  normal  surface-level  would  be  that  of  the  sea, 
and  its  bottom-level,  say  eight  metres  lower.  This  being  the  case,  the  canal  would  re- 
ceive and  must  provide  for  the  whole  drainage  of  the  district  it  traversed. 

Therefore  it  would  be  necessary  to  ascertain  the  volume  of  water  that  would  drain 
into  the  canal  before  it  would  be  possible  even  to  determine  the  sectional  area  of  the  canal. 

If  the  canal  have  a  less  surface -fall  than  the  river,  as  it  would  have,  it  must  have  a 
larger  sectional  area  to  discharge  the  same  volume  of  water. 

The  average  section  of  the  river  in  a  flood  at  Mamei  was  ascertained  by  Mr.  Rerlus 
(page  175)  to  be  1310  square  metres.  This  would  require  a  canal,  if  it  were  eight 
metres  deep,  to  be  160  metres  wide. 

The  waters  of  the  Chagres  would  have  a  tendency  to  flow  toward  the  Pacific,  that  is, 
through  the  tunnel,  as  the  distance  is  less  and  the  fall  greater  than  to  the  Atlantic. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  dimensions  of  the  tunnel,  if  it  has  to  serve  for  both  the  river 
and  canal,  would  be  too  small.  Mr.  Menocal's  estimate  of  the  volume  of  the  Chagres 
in  time  of  flood  would  much  more  than  fill  the  tunnel ;  and  in  any  case  the  whole  section 
of  the  tunnel  is  only  half  that  of  the  river  in  time  of  flood,  as  given  by  Mr.  Reclus. 

During  the  construction  of  a  canal  at  the  sea-level  difficulties  would  arise  in  providing 
for  the  drainage,  which  would  affect  both  time  of  execution  and  cost  to  an  extent  that 
could  hardly  be  ascertained  in  advance. 

If,  from  such  considerations  as  the  foregoing,  it  should  be  concluded  that  the  canal 
should  be  so  constructed  as  to  retain  the  rivers  for  natural  drainage,  then  recourse  will 
have  to  be  had  to  locks. 

In  that  event  there  can  be  no  difficulty,  in  my  opinion,  in  carrying  on  the  traffic  with 
locks  properly  constructed,  provided  there  is  an  ample  water  supply,  which  would  be  a 
sine  qua  non. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  81 

MR.  MENOCAL  TO  MR.  EVARTS. 

UNITED  STATES  NAVY  YARD,  WASHINGTON, 

CIVIL  ENGINEER'S  OFFICE,  June  21,  1879. 

SIB  : — In  compliance  with  instructions  from  the  Department  of  State, 
dated  April  19,  1879,  I  have  the  honor  to  respectfully  submit  here- 
with a  Report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Technical  Committee  consti- 
tuted by  the  International  Congress  convened  at  Paris,  France,  for 
the  purpose  of  discussing  the  question  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal 
across  the  American  Isthmus,  and  to  which  Committee  I  was  assigned ; 
embracing,  in  substance,  the  views  of  foreign  engineers  and  others ; 
together  with  such  statements  as  I  felt  called  upon  to  make  from  time 
to  time  during  the  various  discussions  and  deliberations  of  the  Con- 
gress relative  to  the  project. 

All  of  which  is  most  respectfully  submitted. 
I  am,  etc., 

A.  G.  MENOCAL, 
Oivil  Engineer,    U.  S.  N. 

UNITED  STATES  NAVY  YARD,  WASHINGTON, 

CIVIL  ENGINEER'S  OFFICE,  June  21,  1879. 

SIR  : — Rear- Admiral  Daniel  Ammen,  U.  S.  N.,  has  been  good 
enough  to  show  me  his  Report  to  the  Department  of  State  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  International  Congress,  convened  at  Paris  on  the  15th 
of  May  last,  to  discuss  the  question  of  an  inter-oceanic  ship  canal 
across  the  American  Isthmus.  As  one  of  the  delegates  appointed  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  to  that  Convention,  I  was  instructed 
by  the  Department  of  State  to  report  from  time  to  time  the  trans- 
actions of  the  Congress,  but  the  statements  of  the  Admiral  seem  to 
me  so  clear  and  complete  a  presentation  of  the  facts  that  it  would  be 
superfluous  to  submit  a  full  Report.  I  beg  leave,  therefore,  to  confine 
myself  to  a  statement  of  the  workings  of  the  Technical  Committee,  of 
which  I  was  a  member,  and  to  wlrich  all  projects  for  an  inter-oceanic 
canal  were  presented  for  discussion. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Committee  took  place  on  the  morning  of 
the  16th  of  May.  Admiral  Ronciere  le  Noury  proposed  Mr.  Dou- 
bree  for  President,  Messrs.  Dirks  and  Kleits  for  Vice-Presidents,  and 
Messrs.  W.  Kuber  de  Maere,  Linmander,  and  Emilie  Muller  as 
Secretaries,  and  they  were  so  elected  by  acclamation. 

On  the  organization  of  the  Committee,  the  President  proposed  to 
commence  the  examination  of  the  different  projects,  beginning  with 
6 


82  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

those  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Rear-Admiral 
Ammen  was,  accordingly,  requested  to  submit  such  plans  as  were 
under  his  charge,  and  in  his  absence  I  thought  proper  to  state  that 
the  trunk  and  case  containing  the  Reports  and  maps  of  the  different 
surveys  conducted  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  had  been 
unavoidably  delayed  on  their  way  from  Liverpool  to  Paris,  but  that 
they  were  expected  to  arrive  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  and  that  I 
hoped  they  would  be  ready  for  presentation  on  the  morning  of  the 
following  day. 

The  President  then  requested  Commander  T.  O.  Selfridge,  U.  S.  N., 
to  present  to  the  Committee  the  projects  of  which  he  had  made  a 
special  study. 

Commander  Selfridge  proceeded  to  explain,  at  length,  his  modified 
plans  and  estimates  for  a  ship  canal  by  the  Atrato  and  Napipi  rivers, 
based,  as  he  stated,  on  the  last  surveys  made  by  Lieutenant  F.  Collins, 
U.  S.  N.,  and  his  notes  from  previous  surveys  conducted  by  himself. 
The  length  of  the  work  as  proposed  by  him,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
tunnel,  seems  to  be  the  same  recommended  by  Lieutenant  Collins, 
according  to  the  line  actually  located  by  this  able  officer;  but  Com- 
mander Selfridge  claims  that  by  locating  the  line  in  closer  proximity 
to  the  rivers  Napipi  and  Doguado  a  lower  profile  can  be  obtained, 
and  the  estimated  cost  of  construction  reduced  from  $98,196,894,  as 
given  by  Lieutenant  Collins,  to  $53,000,000.  Commander  Selfridge 
spoke  at  length  on  the  practicability  of  effectually  and  permanently 
removing  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Atrato  by  adopting  the 
same  system  of  jetties  now  in  course  of  construction  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  River  by  Captain  Eads,  and  added  that,  with  the  aid 
of  fifty  men,  he  could  in  three  months  obtain  15  feet  depth  of  water  on 
the  bar  at  the  Atratro,  now  2500  feet  in  length  and  less  than  3  feet 
in  depth  of  water.  He  also  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  providing 
any  canal  built  on  the  Isthmus  of  America  with  ample  facilities  for 
surface-drainage,  and  believed  that  keeping  the  surface  of  the  water  in 
the  canal  above  that  of  the  ground  was  of  great  advantage  to  avoid 
injury  from  floods  in  the  rainy  season.  He  was  then  asked  by  Mr. 
Laroche  what  provision  he  had  made  to  that  effect  in  the  project  for  a 
canal  under  consideration,  to  which  he  replied  that  he  had  not 
directed  his  studies  to  that  special  point,  which  particularly  belonged 
to  the  competency  of  the  engineer. 

Commander  Selfridge  stated  at  the  close  of  his  remarks'  that  he  was 
engaged  in  the  preparation  of  plans  and  estimates  for  a  canal  without 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  83 

locks  by  the  same  route,  which  he  expected  to  submit  to  the  Congress 
shortly. 

Mr.  Blanchet  was  then  allowed  to  present  his  plans  for  a  canal  by 
Lake  Nicaragua,  on  which  he  dwelt  at  length.  His  project  consists 
in  a  modification  of  that  contained  in  the  Report  of  Commander 
E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  N.,  to  the  Navy  Department  of  the  operations  of 
the  United  States  Surveying  Expedition  to  that  country  in  1872-1873. 
Mr.  Blanchet  has  made  two  trips  to  Nicaragua,  in  the  interests  of  an 
association  which  he  represents,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  a  concession 
from  that  Government  to  build  the  canal.  He  has  not,  however,  made 
any  surveys ;  and  his  project  is  based  either  on  the  information  ob- 
tained by  the  United  States  surveys,  or  on  mere  speculations  as  to  the 
topography  of  the  ground.  Little  weight  can  be  attached,  therefore, 
to  his  statements  as  to  natural  conditions;  but  even  should  they  be 
verified  by  proper  examination  of  the  country,  his  plan  would  be  in- 
volved in  much  uncertainty  as  to  practicability  of  execution,  cost,  and 
permanency  of  the  works  proposed. 

He  was  not  prepared  to  present  plans  for  the  construction  of  harbors 
at  Brito  and  Greytown,  the  two  ends  of  the  proposed  canal ;  and  when 
requested  by  the  Committee  to  submit  estimates  for  these  works,  he 
referred  to  a  Report  made  by  me  to  the  Government  of  Nicaragua  in 
1876,  which  he  accepted  as  the  best  solution  of  the  problem.  To 
this  extent  Mr.  Blanchet  seems  to  give  credit  to  the  labors  of  others, 
which  he  so  readily  appropriates.  His  estimate  of  cost  of  construc- 
tion is  $38,146,352. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  Rear- Admiral  Ammen  made  an  expo- 
sition of  the  different  projects  for  a  ship  canal,  surveyed  by  the  several 
expeditions  sent  out  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  Te- 
huantepec,  Nicaragua,  Panama,  and  Darien,  about  to  be  presented  to 
the  Committee'  for  consideration. 

I  was  then  called  upon  to  make  a  technical  exposition  of  those  pro- 
jects. Referring  to  the  proposed  canal  by  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuante- 
pec,  I  stated,  after  consultation  with  Rear- Admiral  Ammen,  that  it  was 
regarded  of  so  little  merit,  as  compared  to  other  routes  more  to  the 
south,  that  I  deemed  it  unnecessary  to  go  into  a  full  explanation  of 
the  lines;  that  I  would  submit  for  the  information  of  the  Congress' a 
number  of  Reports  of  Commodore  Shufeldt,  under  whose  command 
the  survey  had  been  conducted,  and  that,  should  any  of  the  delegates 
desire  any  information  as  to  any  particular  point,  I  would  be  pleased 
to  convey  it  to  the  extent  of  my  ability.  I  proceeded  then  to  present 
my  views  relative  to  the  proposed  canal  across  Nicaragua,  as  located 


84  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

by  the  United  States  Surveying  Expeditions  of  1872-1873,  under  the 
command  of  Commander  E.  P.  Lull,  U.  S.  N.,  to  which  I  was  at- 
tached as  chief  engineer.  The  work  was  therefore  quite  familiar 
to  me;  a  fact  which,  together  with  a  knowledge  of  the  country  and 
its  resources  of  all  kinds  obtained  from  actual  observation  during 
several  years,  made  my  task  comparatively  easy. 

The  Nicaraguan  Canal  has  been  generally  considered  by  American 
engineers,  since  the  results  of  the  surveys  under  consideration  were 
published,  as  the  best  and  most  practicable  route.  It  involves  less 
engineering  difficulties  than  any  other,  and  its  estimated  cost,  based 
on  an  actual  and  careful  location  of  the  line,  is  so  small,  as  compared 
to  other  routes,  that,  in  a  commercial  sense,  it  seems  to  take  precedence 
above  all  others. 

I  endeavored  to  give  a  clear  and  full  description  of  the  whole  line, 
stating  the  area,  water-shed,  and  elevation  of  Lake  Nicaragua  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  the  fact  of  its  being  the  summit-level  of  the 
proposed  canal ;  the  name  and  location  of  the  different  trial-lines  run 
from  the  lake  to  the  Pacific,  with  a  full  description  of  those  passing 
through  the  lowest  depressions  of  the  divide,  and  particularly  of  the 
one  selected  as  the  best,  with  the  reasons  therefor.  I  also  described 
at  length  the  work  required  on  the  lake  to  make  it  navigable  for  large 
vessels  along  the  whole  distance  across  to  its  outlet;  the  River  San 
Juan,  with  all  its  features  in  relation  to  the  canal  and  the  proposed 
works  to  make  it  navigable  for  a  distance  of  63  miles  from  the  lake. 
I  also  described  the  nature  of  the  country  from  the  point  where  the 
canal  leaves  the  channel  of  the  River  San  Juan  below  its  confluence 
with  the  San  Carlos  to  Grey  town;  giving  distances,  number,  and  lift 
of  the  locks  required  on  both  sides  of  the  summit,  together  with  such 
works  of  detail  as  are  essential  to  the  successful  construction  and  per- 
manence of  the  canal. 

The  want  of  good  harbors  at  both  ends  of  the  proposed  canal 
across  Nicaragua  had  been  mentioned  by  many  as  the  weakest  feature 
of  that  project,  and  to  that  particular  point  I  had  devoted  much 
study  during  the  last  four  years.  There  was  a  marked  desire  on  the 
part  of  many  of  the  delegates  to  hear  what  I  had  to  say  in  reference 
to  those  parts,  and  especially  that  of  Grey  town.  I  explained  with 
much  care  the  plans  proposed  for  the  construction  of  a  harbor  at 
Brito  sufficiently  large  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  canal,  and 
answered  several  questions  asked  by  different  members  as  to  natural 
conditions  and  facilities  for  the  execution  of  the  works.  I  then  pro- 
ceeded to  describe  the  present  condition  of  the  harbor  of  Greytown  ; 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  85 

the  changes  that  had  taken  place  during  the  last  forty  years  I  illus- 
trated by  maps  prepared  for  that  purpose,  pointing  out  the  causes  that 
had  produced  those  changes,  and1  brought  about  the  closing  of  the 
harbor.  During  this  exposition  I  invited  criticism.  As  I  was  pro- 
fessionally interested  in  the  solution  of  this  important  problem,  I 
readily  answered  all  questions  relating  to  the  subject,  and  finished  my 
remarks  with  an  explanation  of  the  plan  proposed  for  the  restoration 
of  the  harbor,  with  provisions  for  its  permanency.  I  have  the  plea- 
sure to  say,  in  this  connection,  that  these  plans  were  shortly  after 
referred  to  two  sub-committees,  composed  of  thirteen  of  the  most 
eminent  engineers  present,  and  that  they  were  approved  in  all  par- 
ticulars. 

I  was  called  upon  to  explain  the  system  by  which  the  proposed 
dams  across  the  River  San  Juan  were  intended  to  be  built,  when  I  had 
occasion  to  submit  the  detailed  plans  prepared  for  said  works,  and  to 
describe  the  manner  in  which  I  would  proceed  to  overcome  the  diffi- 
culties connected  therewith.  The  explanations  seemed  to  have  been 
received  with  general  satisfaction.  After  referring  to  other  works  of 
detail,  and  to  the  abundance  of  building  materials,  easy  means  of 
communication,  etc.,  the  presentation  of  that  route  was  considered 
ended. 

Lieutenant  L.  N.  B.  Wyse  was  then  requested  to  bring  before  the 
Congress  his  project  for  a  ship  canal.  He  spoke  in  general  terms  of 
the  inter-oceanic  canal  question ;  and  after  mentioning  the  different 
lines  surveyed  by  the  United  States,  he  referred  to  the  surveys  and 
reconnoissances  conducted  by  himself  on  account  of  the  International 
Commission  of  Paris.  Five  different  projects  had  been  proposed  ,be- 
tween  the  Nicaragua  and  Atrato-Napipi  routes,  and  of  these  he  had 
had  occasion  to  examine  four.  The  one  he  failed  to  examine  was  that 
connecting  the  Bay  of  Aspinwall  writh  that  of  Panama.  After  enu- 
merating the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  several  routes 
studied  by  him,  he  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  they  were  more  or 
less  impracticable,  and  that  a  canal  at  the  level  of  the  sea  by  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  (the  route  he  did  not  survey),  with  or  without 
tunnel,  meets  all  the  requirements  for  a  ship  canal,  and  could  be 
executed  at  a  moderate  cost.  He  then  described  the  line  of  the  pro- 
posed canal,  stating  that  his  information  had  been  obtained  from  the 
plans  of  Mr.  Garalla,  made  in  1843,  for  a  canal  with  locks  and  tunnel 
(in  a  different  direction  from  the  line  proposed  by  Lieutenant  Wyse), 
and  from  the  plans  of  the  Panama  Railroad.  A  canal  at  the  level  of 
the  sea,  such  as  proposed  by  Lieutenants  Wyse  and  Reclus,  has  neces- 


86  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

sarily  to  be  the  ultimate  drain  or  recipient  of  the  extensive  basins 
intercepted  by  the  canal,  including  those  of  the  rivers  Chagres,  Obispo, 
Grande,  Trinidad,  Trijolis,  Gutun,  and  others.  No  provision  had 
been  made,  however,  to  dispose  of  the  surface-drainage,  nor  to  ame- 
liorate the  effects  in  the  canal  by  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  in  the 
Bay  of  Panama,  the  latter  amounting  to  about  24  feet. 

I  will  have  occasion  to  refer  again  to  the  project  on  the  presentation 
of  a  canal  with  locks  on  this  line. 

On  the  20th  Commander  Selfridge  rose  to  state  that  since  his 
arrival  he  had  been  able  to  ascertain  that  a  large  number  of  engineers 
were  opposed  to  a  canal  with  locks ;  that  the  more  he  considered  the 
subject,  the  more  he  agreed  with  the  French  engineers,  and  that  he 
had  accordingly  modified  his  plans  of  a  canal  by  the  Atrato-Napipi, 
so  as  to  reduce  the  number  of  locks  to  two.  After  a  few  remarks  by 
Rear- Admiral  Ammen,  I  was  called  to  explain  the  proposed  canal  by 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  as  located  by  the  United  States  Surveying 
Expedition  of  1875.  I  described  it  with  the  same  care  and  minute- 
ness of  detail  as  that  of  Nicaragua.  I  thought  proper  in  this  con- 
nection to  state  that  the  first  investigations  of  the  commander  of  the 
expedition  and  myself,  on  our  arrival  at  the  isthmus,  were  directed 
to  ascertain  the  practicability  of  a  canal  at  the  level  of  the  sea ;  that 
we  found  the  elevation  of  the  River  Chagres  at  Matachin,  in  its 
normal  condition,  to  be  42  feet  above  the  sea-level,  and  in  times  of 
flood  as  high  as  78  feet,  with  a  width  of  channel  of  about  1500  feet. 
The  canal  would  necessarily  have  to  be  located  along  the  valley  of 
this  river,  and  as  there  was  not  (in  this  narrow  valley)  room  enough 
for  both  the  canal  and  the  river,  the  latter  had  necessarily  to  be  re- 
ceived into  the  canal  under  a  fall  varying  from  42  to  78  feet,  accord- 
ing to  the  magnitude  of  the  floods.  Add  to  this  immense  cataract  the 
floods  of  the  other  rivers,  tributaries  of  the  Chagres  below  Matachin 
(some  of  them  of  large  water-shed  and  considerable  volume),  and  it 
would  be  easy  to  conceive  that  a  canal  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  as  pro- 
posed, by  Panama,  would  frequently  be  converted  into  an  extraordi- 
nary torrent,  impracticable  for  navigation.  The  cost  of  a  canal  under 
these  conditions  cannot  be  estimated,  but  it  would  be  so  great  as  to 
make  it  commercially  impracticable.  It  was  decided,  therefore,  to 
accept  the  locks  as  the  only  possible  solution  of  the  problem. 

I  was  interrupted  in  my  explanations  by  Lieutenants  Wyse  and 
Reclus,  who  wished  to  know  whether  our  information  as  to  elevation 
and  rise  of  the  Chagres  had  been  obtained  by  actual  surveys  or  from 
.the  natives ;  to  which  I  positively  replied  that  it  had  been  obtained 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  87 

by  careful  lines  of  levels  run  from  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  to 
Matachin,  and  along  the  bed  of  the  River  Chagres  to  sixteen  miles 
above  that  place.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  Mr.  Garay, 
delegate  of  the  Mexican  Government,  made  some  remarks  advocating 
a  canal  by  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec.  Mr.  Rebourt,  engineer  of 
the  Saint  Gothard  Tunnel,  followed  with  a  discussion  on  the  probable 
cost  of  a  canal  without  locks  by  Panama,  and  showed  by  figures  and 
diagrams  that  the  cost  of  that  work  at  such  prices  of  labor  as  are  paid 
in  France,  and  supposing  the  work  to  be  done  out  of  water,  would  be 
930,000,000  francs,  and  time  required  for  its  execution  no  less  than 
nine  years.  This  statement  caused  a  long  discussion,  in  which  many 
of  the  delegates  took  part.  It  was  at  last  proposed  and  agreed  to  by 
acclamation  that  two  sub-committees  be  appointed :  The  first,  on  exca- 
vation in  tunnel  and  open  cut,  dredging,  and  estimates ;  the  second,  on 
locks  and  cross-section  for  the  canal.  These  sub-committees  were 
instructed  to  report  as  soon  as  practicable,  and  to  prepare  comparative 
estimates  of  cost  of  all  the  projects  thus  far  presented  to  the  Techni- 
cal Committee. 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st  Messrs.  Cotard,  Ruelle,  and  Lavalley, 
members  of  the  first  sub-committee,  made  some  statements  to  the 
eifect  that  the  practicability  of  a  canal  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  as  pro- 
posed, was  involved  in  much  uncertainty,  and  that  the  difficulties  to 
be  overcome  were  of  such  a  character  and  of  such  magnitude  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  any  engineer  to  arrive  at  an  approximate 
estimate  of  its  probable  cost. 

Sir  John  Hawkshaw  followed  with  a  few  remarks  to  the  effect  that 
the  volume  of  the  Chagres,  in  times  of  flood,  would  be  more  than 
sufficient  to  fill  the  entire  cross-section  of  the  tunnel  (as  proposed  by 
Lieutenants  "YVyse  and  Reclus),  which  is  only  one-half  that  of  the 
river,  as  given  by  Mr.  Reclus. 

That  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  excavation  free  from  water  would 
increase  the  cost  and  time  of  the  execution  of  the  work  to  a  point  that 
cannot  be  estimated  beforehand. 

That  the  velocity  of  the  current  in  the  proposed  canal  due  to  the 
tide  alone  would  be  about  five  miles  an  hour.  "  That,  if  from  such 
considerations  as  the  foregoing  it  should  be  concluded  that  the  canal 
should  be  so  constructed  as  to  retain  the  rivers  for  natural  drainage, 
then  recourse  must  be  had  to  locks.  In  that  event  there  can  be  no 
difficulty,  in  my  opinion,  in  carrying  on  the  traffic  with  locks  pro- 
perly constructed,  provided  there  is  an  ample  water  supply,  which 
would  be  a  sine  qica  non." 


88  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

These  remarks  from  so  eminent  an  engineer  as  Sir  John  Hawkshaw 
had  much  weight  in  the  Committee. 

Lieutenants  Wyse  and  Reclus  had,  since  the  day  before,  commenced 
to  suggest  some  means  by  which  to  overcome  the  difficulty  of  receiv- 
ing the  River  Chagres  into  the  canal  in  the  form  of  a  cataract.  The 
remarks  of  Sir  John  Hawkshaw,  however,  made  it  only  too  apparent 
to  them,  that  unless  they  succeeded  in  disposing  of  this  difficulty  in  a 
manner  acceptable  at  least  to  their  friends,  their  project  had  to  be 
abandoned.  These  gentlemen  are  not  engineers,  and  however  compe- 
tent they  may  be  in  their  profession,  they  lack  that  theoretical  and 
practical  knowledge  without  which  a  work  of  such  magnitude  as  the 
one  under  consideration  cannot  be  designed  or  executed. 

On  the  22d  instant  I  was  called  by  both  sub-committees  to  give 
some  additional  information  relative  to  the  Nicaragua  Canal.  The 
sub-committee  on  locks  requested  me  to  submit  plans  and  estimates 
for  a  system  of  three  locks  of  150  metres  in  length,  between  gates 
20  metres  wide  and  no  more  than  4  metres  lift.  Also,  estimates  for 
an  increase  in  the  width  of  the  canal  to  100  metres  at  the  bottom,  in 
curves  and  bends  of  the  river  of  less  than  3000  metres  radius.  It 
was  apparently  the  intention  of  this  Committee  to  so  increase  the  cost 
of  the  canal  with  locks,  via  Nicaragua,  as  to  make  it  less  practicable 
in  a  commercial  sense  than  the  canal  at  the  level  of  the  sea  via  Panama, 
which  had  very  strong  advocates  in  that  body,  particularly  its  Presi- 
dent. 

I  prepared  in  the  evening  of  that  day  plans  for  a  system  of  double 
locks  of  the  dimensions  given,  which  I  submitted,  together  writh  the 
estimates  required,  on  the  following  morning.  I  refused  to  make 
plans  for  the  three  locks  on  the  ground  that  I  considered  it  unneces- 
sary, since  a  canal  with  single  locks  would  allow  the  passage  of  no 
less  than  24  ships  a  day,  and  one  with  double,  more  than  double  that 
number.  According  to  my  calculation,  a  ship  could  pass  a  lock  (as  I 
had  designed  them)  in  about  one-half  hour,  but  I  have  Sir  John 
Hawkshaw's  authority  for  stating  that  20  minutes  would  be  ample 
time  for  the  operation.  Supposing  that  5,000,000  tons  would  pass 
through  the  canal  during  the  year,  which  seems  to  be  a  liberal  allow- 
ance, and  that  the  ships  will  carry  2000  tons  each,  the  average  daily 
passage  would  be  7  ships.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  in  order  to  build 
the  canal  as  economically  as  possible,  so  as  to  make  it  a  financial  suc- 
cess, single  locks  should  be  built  at  the  start,  and  if  at  any  time  the 
traffic  should  increase  so  as  to  require  additional  facilities,  a  second 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  89 

series  of  locks  can  be  built  alongside  the  first  ones,  without  any  in- 
convenience or  great  cost. 

On  the  23d  instant  I  was  furnished  by  the  first  sub-committee  with 
a  drawing  for  a  new  cross-section  for  the  canal  proposed  by  the  sub- 
committee on  locks,  and  requested  to  compute  the  cubical  contents  of 
excavation  resulting  from  this  change  and  from  an  increase  to  100 
metres  of  the  whole  channel  in  both  the  river  and  lake.  The  new 
cross-section  proposed  I  regarded  as  utterly  impracticable,  and  seemed 
to  have  been  designed  for  the  only  purpose  of  reducing  relatively  as 
much  as  possible  the  cubical  contents  of  excavation  in  the  canal  with- 
out locks  by  Panama.  The  proposed  slopes  in  cuttings  of  nearly  300 
feet  in  depth  is  one-tenth,  and  the  width  of  the  canal  at  the  level  of 
water  22  metres.  In  regard  to  the  acquired  increase  in  the  width  of 
the  channel  in  the  river  and  lake  to  100  metres,  the  only  object  in 
view  seems  to  have  been  to  obtain  an  increase  in  the  estimated  cost  of  the 
work  by  about  $10,000,000.  With  the  very  efficient  and  timely  assist- 
ance of  Lieutenant-Commander  Gorringe,  United  States  Navy,  I  was 
able  to  complete  the  computations  required  on  the  night  of  that  day, 
which  I  delivered  to  the  sub-committee  in  a  tabular  form  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  following  day.  In  view  of  the  increase  in  the  estimates 
made  necessary  by  the  proposed  change  in  the  width  of  the  channel 
in  the  river  and  lake,  I  wrote  a  note  to  the  first  sub-committe,  stating 
that  by  raising  the  dam  proposed  at  Castillo  Rapids  one  metre  (and 
there  was  nothing  that  would  make  this  change  objectionable)  the 
estimated  cost  could  be  reduced  by  no  less  than  $14,000,000.  Messrs. 
Cotard  and  Lavalley,  members  of  the  first  sub-committee  and  engineers 
of  great  reputation,  thought  very  favorably  of  the  suggested  change, 
and  so  reported  it  to  the  Technical  Committee. 

Lieutenants  "Wyse  and  Reclus  had  been  before  the  sub-committee, 
advocating  such  modifications  to  their  scheme  as  they  thought  might 
be  accepted  as  a  solution  of  the  problem.  Three  different  changes, 
equally  objectionable,  were  presented  during  the  last  two  days.  It 
was  at  last  decided  by  the  sub-committee  on  locks  that  the  canal  should 
be  provided  with  a  tide-lock  on  the  Pacific  side  and  that  new  channels 
be  made  for  the  River  Chagres  and  its  tributaries  from  Matachin  to 
the  sea.  With  these  modifications  the  canal  without  locks  was  re- 
ported favorably  upon,  and  estimates  of  cost  prepared  by  the  first 
sub-committee.  No  surveys  had  been  made  to  determine  the  possi- 
bility of  locating  the  proposed  new  channel,  and  I  venture  to  say  that 
if  such  a  work  is  ever  undertaken  it  will  be  found  to  be  of  more 
difficult  execution  than  is  anticipated  by  the  authors  of  the  project. 


90  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

To  divert  a  stream  from  its  natural  course  and  canalize  it  in  an  arti- 
ficial channel  is  always  a  work  requiring  mature  consideration  by  the 
engineer,  but  when  the  stream  desired  to  be  controlled  is  a  torrential 
river  of  the  dimensions  and  conditions  of  the  Chagres,  running  in 
close  proximity  to  the  proposed  canal,  which  would  be  about  forty 
feet  below  the  bed  of  the  river,  then  such  work  may  be  regarded  as 
utterly  impracticable. 

On  the  26th  of  May  the  sub-committee  submitted  their  Reports  on 
the  different  routes  under  consideration.  A  system  of  three  locks  was 
recommended  and  estimated  upon  by  the  Committee  on  Locks,  for  the 
Nicaragua  Canal.  The  number  of  locks  was  fixed  at  17,  and  the  cost 
of  each  at  7,000,000  francs. 

Both  sub-committees  reported  very  favorably  on  the  Nicaragua 
Canal,  stating  that  the  project  had  been  studied  with  much  care  and 
skill,  and  that  the  sub-committees  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  could 
be  executed  without  material  difficulties. 

Of  the  canal  d  niveau  through  Panama,  they  said  that  the  work 
proposed  presented  such  apparent  difficulties  of  construction  and  so 
many  doubtful  elements,  that  they  had  been  unable  to  agree  as  to  its 
probable  cost  or  time  required  to  do  the  work. 

The  Nicaragua  Canal,  with  the  modifications  introduced,  was  esti- 
mated as  follows  : — 

Francs. 

Estimated  cost  of  the  work, 471,253,183 

Twenty-five  per  cent,  for  contingencies,       .         .         .  117,808,290 

Expenses  of  commissions,  etc.,    .....  29,458,329 

Interest  for  six  years,  during  construction,  .         .         .  93,000,000 

711,519,802 

The  canal  by  Panama  was  estimated  to  cost  about  1,044,000,000 
francs,  without  allowing  any  compensation  to  the  Panama  Railroad, 
which  may  be  estimated  at  200,000,000  francs,  and  the  time  of  con- 
struction was  fixed  at  twelve  years. 

Other  projects  were  also  estimated  and  reported  upon ;  but  as  they 
were  regarded  as  possessing  but  little  merit,  I  have  thought  proper 
not  to  mention  them  here. 

A  general  and  animated  discussion  followed  this  Report,  the  friends 
of  the  Panama  Canal  claiming  that  the  estimated  cost  of  the  Nicara- 
gua line  had  been  fixed  too  small  as  compared  to  that  of  Panama. 

Mr.  Fourcy  recommended,  and  the  President  decided,  that  those 
who  had  presented  projects  should  not  be  allowed  to  take  part  in  the 
discussion. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  91 

It  was  frequently  stated  by  Mr.  Fourcy  and  his  friends  that  the 
question  of  cost  should  have  no  weight  in  the  decision  of  the  Con- 
gress which  had  been  called  to  decide  as  to  technical  possibilities. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Dauzats,  supported  by  Mr.  Fourcy,  it  was 
agreed  by  acclamation  that  the  time  of  construction  of  the  Nicaragua 
line  should  be  raised  from  six  years  (as  recommended  by  the  sub- 
committees) to  eight  years.  The  estimates  were  also  in  the  same 
informal  manner  raised,  that  of  Nicaragua  to  900,000,000  francs,  and 
that  of  Panama.to  1,200,000,000  francs. 

A  new  plan  for  a  canal  by  Panama  was  on  that  day  submitted  by 
Lieutenant  Wyse,  through  Mr.  Lepinay.  It  proposes  the  construc- 
tion of  an  immense  dam  across  the  valley  of  the  Chagres  River,  which 
would  by  this  means  be  converted  into  a  large  artificial  lake,  the  re- 
cipient of  the  waters  of  the  Ghagres  and  its  tributaries  to  a  point  on 
the  river  called  Boliro  Soldado,  where  the  dam  is  intended  to  be 
located.  This  lake  was  to  be  taken  as  the  summit-level  of  the  canal, 
and  twelve  locks  are  proposed  to  overcome  its  elevation  above  the  sea. 

This  plan  is  an  imitation  of  Mr.  Blanchet's  project  for  a  canal  by 
Nicaragua,  and  is  based  on  the  same  kind  of  information  as  to  natural 
conditions ;  namely,  absence  of  surveys  for  the  location  of  the  dam  or 
of  the  locks  proposed ;  the  extent  of  country  to  be  inundated  is  en- 
tirely unknown,  and  consequently  no  calculations  have  been  made  to 
ascertain  whether  or  not  the  waters  of  the  Chagres  and  its  tributaries 
coming  into  the  lake  would  be  sufficient  in  the  dry  season  to  supply 
the  lockage  and  evaporation  and  leakage  in  the  basin  and  canal. 
From  my  knowledge  of  those  rivers,  I  would  feel  safe  in  stating  that 
during  two  or  three  months  in  the  year  the  supply  would  be  found 
altogether  insufficient,  while  in  the  rainy  season  much  apprehension 
may  be  felt  for  the  proper  disposition  of  the  surplus. 

The  sub-committees  were  instructed  to  submit  estimates  for  that 
new  scheme  and  to  report  the  next  day. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  instant  Commander  Selfridge  called 
the  attention  of  the  Committee  to  the  fact  that  about  twenty  years  ago 
a  commission  of  engineers  had  been  appointed  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  to  examine  and  report  on  the  then  alarming  con- 
dition of  the  harbor  of  Greytown,  and  that  said  commission  had  re- 
ported to  the  eifect  that  the  restoration  of  the  harbor  to  its  previous 
condition  was  a  problem  involved  in  much  doubt ;  that  it  could  not 
be  accomplished  without  a  very  large  expenditure  of  money,  and  that 
even  then  its  permanence  could  not  be  assured.  He  also  stated  that 
Nicaragua  was  subject  to  frequent  and  severe  earthquakes,  and  the 


92  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

territory  between  the  lake  and  the  Pacific  was  the  centre  of  the  vol- 
<ianic  region  of  Central  America.  He  wanted  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  Committee  to  the  injury  that  might  result  from  such  causes  to  a 
oanal  with  locks  in  that  country,  and  concluded  by  stating  that 
Panama  and  the  vicinity  of  Napipi  were  free  from  such  dangers. 

To  this  I  thought  proper  to  reply,  that  the  commission  of  engineers 
he  had  referred  to  had  based  their  conclusions  and  recommendations 
on  the  supposition  that  the  sand-bank  obstructing  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor  of  Greytown  was  the  bar  of  the  River  San  Juan  ;  this  I  had 
already  an  occasion  to  show  to  the  Committee  was  not  a  fact.  As  to 
the  earthquakes  and  volcanic  condition  of  Nicaragua,  I  remarked 
that  earthquakes  in  Nicaragua  were  certainly  of  frequent  occurrence, 
but  that  I  was  not  aware  that  they  had  ever  done  any  damage  to  life 
or  property;  that,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  a  known  fact  that  the 
old  city  of  Panama  had  been  totally  destroyed  by  a  shock  of  earth- 
quake, and  not  more  than  two  years  ago  a  whole  town  had  been 
leveled  to  the  ground  in  the  province  of  Santander,  in  Colombia,  in 
which  more  than  15,000  lives  were  lost.  In  regard  to  the  damage 
that  might  be  done  by  such  convulsions  to  a  canal  with  locks  as  that 
proposed  via  Nicaragua,  I  thought  they  would  be  of  less  importance 
than  what  should  be  expected  in  a  canal  with  tunnel  or  cuttings  over 
three  hundred  feet  in  depth,  as  were  proposed  for  the  Atrato,  Napipi, 
and  Panama  routes. 

A  general  discussion  as  to  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages  of 
the  different  projects  continued  all  day, — Messrs.  Fourcy,  Dauzats, 
and  others  in  favor  of  Panama,  and  Messrs.  Cotard,  Lavalley,  and 
Ruelle  against  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  the  sub-committee  reported  estimates 
for  the  new  scheme  of  inundation  proposed  by  Panama,  amounting  to 
700,000,000  francs. 

I  then  requested  to  be  informed  by  the  Committee  whether  or  not 
the  design  of  such  a  canal  had  been  based  on  any  actual  survey  or 
examination  of  the  ground  to  determine  its  practicability,  and  that,  if 
no  surveys  had  been  made  for  that  purpose  (as  I  had  reason  to  be- 
lieve), on  what  data  had  the  sub-committee  based  the  estimates ;  and 
what  importance  could  I  attach  to  its  figures.  I  thought  proper  to 
add  in  that  connection  that  we  had  been  directed  to  present  before  this 
Congress  all  the  information  relating  to  the  inter-oceanic  canal  ques- 
tion in  possession  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  obtained 
after  many  years  of  well-conducted  surveys  and  a  large  expenditure 
of  money;  that  we  expected  to  find  here  information  of  the  same 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  9£ 

character ;  and  that,  from  a  proper  comparison  and  discussion  of  all 
the  reliable  data  thus  obtained,  competent  engineers  would  be  able  to 
decide  intelligently  as  to  the  best  route  for  a  canal.  Instead  of  that, 
the  only  reliable  and  well-digested  plans  presented  had  been  those 
from  the  United  States,  and  I  was  sorry  to  see  that  they  were  weighed 
on  the  same  scale  with  imaginary  projects  traced  on  imperfect  maps  of 
the  isthmus,  some  of  them  the  result  of  one  night's  inspiration. 

Some  confusion  was  produced  by  these  remarks,  and  Mr.  Fourcy  re- 
plied that  a  canal  with  locks  by  Panama  was  no  new  idea,  as  Mr» 
Garalla  had  proposed  one  by  that  system  as  early  as  1843.  In  fact, 
no  reply  was  made  to  my  inquiries. 

The  discussion  lasted  until  late  in  the  evening,  Mr.  Fourcy  speak- 
ing for  several  hours  in  favor  of  a  canal  without  locks,  no  matter  at 
what  cost. 

It  was  at  last  agreed,  amid  great  confusion  and  excitement,  by  a 
vote  of  16  yeas,  11  abstentions,  3  nays,  and  7  absentees,  that  "The 
Committee,  standing  on  a  technical  point  of  view,  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  canal,  such  as  would  satisfy  the  requirements  of  commerce,, 
is  possible  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  recommend  especially 
a  canal  at  the  level  of  the  sea." 

A  similar  resolution  was  on  the  following  day  adopted  by  a  general 
meeting  of  the  Congress. 

The  vote  was — yeas,  72;  nays,  8;  absentees,  37;  and  abstentions, 
16.  Of  the  affirmative  vote  only  19  were  engineers,  and  of  this  last 
number  eight  are  at  present,  or  have  been,  connected  with  the  Suez 
Canal ;  five  are  not  practical  engineers,  and  only  one  has  been  in  Cen- 
tral America.  He  is  a  young  graduate,  of  little  or  no  professional 
experience,  a  native  of  Panama,  and  has  assisted  Lieutenant  Wyse  in 
his  explorations.  Of  the  five  delegates  of  the  French  Society  of  En- 
gineers, two  voted  no,  and  three  absented  themselves  from  the  two 
last  sessions  of  the  Committee  and  the  Congress. 

I  abstained  from  voting  for  the  reason  that  the  resolution  is  in- 
definite as  to  what  system  of  canal  should  be  finally  adopted.  I  be- 
lieve that  a  canal  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  as  proposed,  is  impracticable, 
at  least  in  a  commercial  sense,  but  a  canal  with  locks  by  Panama  has 
been  shown  to  be  feasible  by  the  United  States  Surveying  Expe- 
dition of  1875,  although  more  expensive  than  that  via  Nicaragua. 

By  these  proceedings  the  remarkable  condition  is  presented  of  en- 
gineers designing  and  estimating  on  the  cost  of  such  important  work 
as  the  one  under  consideration  without  a  proper  knowledge  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  works  are  to  be  constructed,  which  was  gener- 


94  THE  AMERICAN  INTER-OCEANIC 

ally  regarded,  as  well  as  that  of  cost,  to  be  a  matter  for  after  con- 
sideration. 

One  point,  however,  has  been  gained  by  the  discussion,  viz:  That 
the  surveys  made  by  the  United  States  Government  are  now  well 
known  in  Europe,  and  the  relative  merit  of  the  different  routes  well 
appreciated  by  many  engineers  of  experience  and  great  reputation,  as 
is  shown  by  the  Report  of  the  first  sub-committee,  a  copy  of  which  I 
respectfully  submit  herewith. 

It  is  expected  that  the  impracticable  scheme  proposed  by  Panama 
will  soon  be  abandoned  for  want  of  supporters. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

A.  G.  MENOCAL, 

Civil  Engineer,  United  States  Navy. 
Hon.  WM.  M.  EVARTS, 

Secretary  of  State,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 


SHIP  CANAL  QUESTION.  95 


APPENDIX. 

PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  GENERAL  SESSION  OF  THE 
CONGRESS  IN  PARIS,  MAY  23,  AND  IN  THE  FOURTH 
COMMISSION,  MAY  26,  1879. 

A  MEMBER. — I  see  that  the  Congress  is  drawing  to  its  "close.  It 
will  soon  be  called  upon  to  decide  between  the  different  projects  which 
have  been  submitted  to  it. 

Shall  the  canal  pass  through  Lake  Nicaragua,  or  by  way  of 
Panama  ? 

I  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  Atrato  project  to  the  attention  of 
the  President ;  leaving  out  the  matter  of  expense  and  its  technical 
question,  I  believe  that  it  would  have  advantages  for  the  interests  of 
the  country. 

THE  PRESIDENT. — I  would  ask  that  you  will  be  kind  enough  to 
present  your  observations  to  the  Commission  charged  with  the 
examination  of  the  question. 

The  representative  of  the  Fifth  Commission  has  now  the  floor. 

THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  FIFTH  COMMISSION. — The  Fifth 
Commission  had  announced  its  Report  for  to-day's  session;  it 
met  yesterday,  and,  after  discussion,  became  convinced  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  hand  in  its  Report  before  being  fully 
advised  of  the  decision  which  the  Statistical  Commission  will  adopt. 
This  Commission  has  informed  us  that  they  will  complete  their  decis- 
ions at  the  sitting  of  to-morrow  (Saturday).  We  have  been  obliged, 
therefore,  to  adjourn  until  the  communication  of  the  decisions  which 
will  be  made  at  that  session. 

THE  PRESIDENT. — We  will  have  a  general  session,  then,  next  Tues- 
day, at  nine  o'clock,  to  hear  the  different  Reports  before  the  closing 
session,  which  will  certainly  take  place  on  Thursday  evening  at  nine. 

Now,  gentlemen,  permit  me,  as  the  President,  to  make  a  resume  of 
what  has  been  done  at- the  session  of  the  Congress.  You  have  heard 
the  different  Reports  which  have  been  laid  before  you.  What  strikes 
us  the  most  is  the  enthusiasm  of  the  United  States  of  America  in 
favor  of  locating  a  canal  at  Panama ;  they  have  been  at  considerable 
expense  in  sending  out  explorers  to  that  isthmus.  It  is  unques- 
tionable that  America  has  hereby  given  us  proof  of  her  impartiality, 


96  APPENDIX. 

and  of  her  devotion  (to  the  interests  of  a  canal).  Let  no  one,  here- 
after, conie  to  tell  us  that  she  does  not  wish  a  canal  because  she  has 
a  railroad.  Rear-Admiral  Ainmen  and  Commander  Selfridge,  in 
their  study  of  the  projects,  have  expressed  to  us  the  desire  to  come  to 
an  understanding  in  order  to  secure  something  practicable. 

Commander  Selfridge  has  presented  to  us  his  plan  for  the  Napipi- 
Atrato  route, — a  plan  without  locks,  except  the  two  by  which  to 
descend  from  the  level  of  the  Atrato  to  the  level  of  the  Pacific. 
M.  Wyse  and  his  companions  have  reported  on  the  mission  which 
they  undertook.  Of  the  seven  who  went  out,  four  died  in  those 
wilds  where  one  cannot  advance  a  step  except  with  hatchet  in  hand. 
They  have  at  length  returned,  and  have  had  the  frankness  to  declare 
to  us  that  in  the  countries  which  they  have  just  explored  a  canal  is 
impossible.  When  I  saw  them,  it  was  in  company  with  Monsieur 
Lavalley,  our  illustrious  Suez  engineer,  who  has  already  designed 
for  us  so  many  machines,  and  who,  in  like  circumstances,  will  well 
know  how  to  invent  new  ones.  I  have  consulted  M.  Lavalley,  and 
he  has  replied  that  the  decision  would  be  for  a  canal  a  niveau — that 
this  would  be  the  general  opinion.  I  shall  permit  myself  to  sustain 
this  opinion.  Although  I  am  not  an  engineer,  my  experience  has 
often  served  me  in  this  matter.  It  is  very  necessary  to  decide 
quickly ;  if  we  should  occasion  delay,  we  will  be  the  cause  of  great 
injury  to  commerce. 

The  most  distinguished  engineers  of  France  have  written  some 
articles  on  this  subject,  which  you  have  been  able  to  read  in  the 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes.  Some  of  them  are  in  favor  of  a  canal  with 
fifteen  locks ;  that  is  to  say,  twice  as  many  as  any  one  has  already 
constructed  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  and  this  for  the  simple  reason  that 
they  think  it  impossible  to  construct  a  tunnel.  Moreover,  I  learned 
a  fortnight  ago,  that  as  the  result  of  the  soundings  very  recently 
made  we  cannot  count  upon  an  outlet  from  the  canal  into  the  Pacific ; 
but,  at  this  day,  when  dredgers  have  come  into  use,  we  have  learned 
by  the  regime  of  waters  that  what  could  not  be  done  some  years  ago 
is  now  perfectly  practicable.  It  would  have  happened  so  to  us  at 
Suez  (i.e.,  we  could  not  have  had  an  outlet  there)  if  we  had  left  our 
harbors  without  cleaning  them  out.  God  only  knows  at  what  we 
should  have  arrived  in  a  century  or  two  more ;  we  have  learned  now 
to  secure  the  equilibrium  of  the  waters. 

I  do  not  wish  to  interpose  the  least  difficulty  in  the  labors  of  the 
Technical  Commission.  The  savants  have  the  means  of  foreseeing 
very  many  things,  but  there  are  some  facts  which  are  incontrovertible. 


APPENDIX.  97 

I  will  ask  the  Commission  not  [to  formulate  any  resolutions  which 
could  arrest  certain  plans.  ^  I  would  wish  them  to  say  only  yes  or  no, 
whether  it  appears  to  them  possible  to  construct  a  canal  d  niveau, 
which  seems  to  be  the  desideratum  of  the  whole  world.*  M.  Lavalley 
has  studied  that  question  of  a  tunnel ;  he  believes  it  clearly  practi- 
cable. It  is,  he  says,  only  a  question  of  expense.  I  will  not  enter 
into  the  scientific  question.  I  will  only  ask  the  Technical  Commis- 
sion to  tell  us  precisely  what  would  be  the  expense  of  a  canal 
a  niveau  ;  what  estimates  can  be  made  of  that  expense,  and  especially 
what  the  cost  will  be  in  the  future  (after  construction)  for  canals 
d  niveau,  or  for  those  with  locks.  Governments  can  encourage  such 
enterprises ;  they  cannot  execute  them.  It  is  the  public,  then,  on 
whom  we  must  call,  and  when  you  come  before  them  they  will  ask  of 
you  (if  it  is  a  canal  with  locks),  What  will  be  the  expense  in  tha 
future? 

I  will  express  my  opinion.  I  consider  that  a  canal  with  locks 
would  retard  navigation.  From  the  experience  we  have  had  at  Suez, 
a  ship  must  not  now  be  delayed.  There  are  a  thousand  Philistines 
there  who  can  load  a  ship  of  four  hundred  tons  in  an  hour.  It  is  to 
be  remembered,  also,  that  it  costs  a  ship  of  a  thousand  tons  two 
thousand  francs  for  every  day's  delay.  I  have  often  been  consulted 
on  this  subject ;  I  have  always  replied,  by  dispatch,  that  ships  must 
not  be  delayed  in  their  passage ;  they  are  informed  that  it  will  be 
well  for  them  to  wait  the  rise  of  the  tide  when  they  cannot  be  sure  of 
their  being  able  to  steer  satisfactorily.  The  larger  number  of  them, 
in  spite  of  the  delay,  prefer  to  wait  several  hours  for  the  tide.  This 
is  certainly  an  obstacle,  and  we  thought  of  remedying  it  at  Suez  by 
means  of  tide-locks ;  but  we  have  been  obliged  to  abandon  that  idea. 
I  go  every  year  to  Suez.  I  have  often  met  there  with  large  ships 
which  were  passing  with  the  ebb  tide  because  they  were  in  haste ;  I 
have  witnessed  the  slowness  of  their  sailing.  We  must  not  forget 
that  the  large  vessels  which  come  from  England  must  make  their 
voyage  in  twenty-one  days.  I  have  often  seen  these  English  vessels 
of  twenty-five  hundred  tons  sheltering  an  entire  regiment.  These 
brave  people  are  on  the  deck  with  their  wives  and  children,  for  you 
know  they  never  travel  without  them.  We  look  on  them  from  a 
distance ;  they  look  like  anything  but  soldiers. 

In  my  opinion  we  ought  not  to  make  a  canal  at  Panama  witb 
locks,  but  d  niveau ;  that  is  the  opinion  of  the  public,  whose  orgam 
I  am. 

7 


98  APPENDIX. 

DON  MANUEL  PERALTA. — I  have  listened  with  the  most  profound 
respect  to  the  opinion  which  Monsieur  de  Lesseps  has  just  expressed. 
It  appears  to  me  he  has  forgotten  to  say  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  appointed  a  Scientific  Commission  of  three  members, 
and  that  these  gentlemen  successively  examined  the  different  projects 
from  the  route  by  the  Atrato  to  the  passage  through  the  great  Lake 
Nicaragua,  as  well  as  the  canal  d  niveau,  with  a  tunnel  alongside  the 
railroad  from  Colon  to  Panama ;  but  after  a  long  and  very  conscien- 
tious study,  and  repeated  explorations,  they  decided  that  the  plan  of 
Commander  Lull  was  preferable  from  a  humanitarian  point  of  view, 
since  it  would  save  a  great  many  lives,  a  circumstance  which  had  not 
been  foreseen  when  the  Panama  Railroad  was  built ;  and,  besides 
that,  by  this  route  sailing-vessels  could  always  pass  with  favorable 
wind,  which  cannot  be  hoped  for  on  other  routes,  especially  at 
Panama.  The  American  Scientific  Commission  decided  on  the  Nica- 
ragua route,  since  it  was  demonstrated  that  the  Panama  route  was 
impossible.  Is  there  no  ground  for  taking  its  decision  into  con- 
sideration ? 

THE  PRESIDENT. — The  Government  declared  that  there  was  no 
impossibility  for  a  canal  with  locks,  and  that  it  could  not  assert  that  a 
canal  a  niveau  was  impossible.  The  Government,  in  its  fairness,  was 
absorbed  in  one  idea  only.  It  acted  on  the  principle  that  nothing 
was  impossible. 

M.  DES  GRAND. — Since  a  Commission  has  been  named  composed 
of  members  of  the  bureaus  of  the  different  sections,  would  it  not  be 
well  that  this  Commission  meet  to  formulate  a  programme  of  ques- 
tions to  be  resolved, — a  programme  which  can  be  distributed  in  time 
for  us  to  reflect  upon  them  before  the  last  sitting  of  the  Congress.  In 
this  way,  instead  of  being  limited  to  the  one  question,  Which  is  best  of 
all  the  canals  ? — or  which  is  the  same  as  asking  Which  is  the  best  of 
all  the  Governments  ? — we  can  enlighten  the  public  more  by  increas- 
ing the  number  of  questions.  I  wish  to  say,  that  what  is  understood 
to  be  the  best  of  all  the  canals  is  not,  perhaps,  that  which  costs  the 
least. 

THE  PRESIDENT. — The  different  sections  can  send  in  their  memo- 
randa to  the  Technical  Commission,  which  will  examine  all  their 
plans. 

M.  DES  GRAND. — If  we  have  before  us  this  question  only — Which 
is  the  best  of  the  canals  ? — I  fear  we  shall  not  reach  its  solution. 

THE  PRESIDENT. — We  shall  reach  it  in  time. 


APPENDIX.  99 

M.  DES  GRAND. — I  address  the  Central  Commission,  composed  of 
the  Presidents  and  Secretaries  of  all  the  Committees,  and  I  ask  it  to 
formulate  a  programme  to  which  the  Technical  Commission  will  have 
to  reply. 

THE  PRESIDENT. — We  cannot  impose  a  programme  on  that  Com- 
mision. 

M.  RUELLE. — I  will  limit  myself  to  those  questions  which  I  address 
to  the  Commission  of  Navigation  to  facilitate  the  labor  of  the  Tech- 
nical Commission.  We  have  been  told  up  to  the  present  time  that 
these  would  be  tide-locks.  I  wish  the  Commission  of  Navigation  to 
pronounce  clearly  on  this  point,  since  on  the  construction  or  the  non- 
constructioii  of  tide-locks  may  depend  a  difference  of  height  in  the 
tunnel.  Then  a  second  question  as  to  the  form,  whether  ovoid  or 
elliptical,  which  of  these  is  most  economical  for  constructing  a  tunnel? 
and  in  which  does  the  arch  offer  the  most  resistance  ?  I  wish  to  know 
if  the  width  necessary  for  the  passage  of  sailing-ships  can  accord  with 
the  elliptical  form,  and  if  we  must  be  limited  to  a  width  of  22  metres 
for  the  tunnel. 

My  third  question  to  the  Commission  of  Navigation  is  this :  What 
comparison  can  be  made  between  the  difficulties  of  a  ship  passing 
through  several  locks  and  the  passage  of  the  same  ship  through  a 
tunnel  of  a  certain  length.  In  a  word,  will  a  tunnel  ten  kilometres 
long  present  the  same  obstacles  to  navigation  as  the  sailing  of  a  ship 
through  nine  or  ten  locks. 

M.  YOISIN  NAY. — From  the  questions  which  M.  Ruelle  addresses 
to  the  Commission  of  Navigation,  I  wish  to  set  aside  the  first  one ; 
that  is,  whether  guard-locks  ought  to  be  constructed  on  the  Pacific 
side.  I  add  that  this  question  can  be  answered  only  among  ourselves. 

M.  SIMONIN. — As  the  Congress  must  close  its  sessions  next  Thurs- 
day, and  as  our  honorable  President  has  just  told  us  that  we  must 
examine  the  cost  of  a  canal  d  niveau,  whatever  it  may  cost,  I  ask 
permission  to  present  some  observations  precisely  on  what  our  Presi- 
dent has  just  said.  We,  who  have  met  in  this  body,  are  not  only 
engineers,  geographers,  theoretical  scientists;  it  has  seemed  to  me 
that  we  are  also  manufacturers,  seamen,  and  business  men,  and  in  the 
preceding  general  session  our  honorable  President  said  that  in  this 
matter  it  was  not  necessary  to  have  the  assistance  of  Government,  and 
that  we  must  address  ourselves  to  the  public  only. 

Now  it  has  been  announced  that  the  transit  of  the  future  canal  will 
reach  the  figures  of  six  millions  of  tons,  which  I  consider  a  very 
large  maximum  j  and  I  have  the  right  to  so  regard  it,  if  I  compare  it 


100  APPENDIX. 

with  the  figure  of  three  millions  of  tons  passing  through  the  Suez 
Canal,  which  is  an  important  point  of  the  world's  commerce.  What- 
ever may  be  the  importance  of  the  Panama  Canal,  I  doubt  whether 
it  will  ever  exceed  that  which  the  Suez  Canal  has  attained.  I  doubt 
it  for  more  than  one  reason,  because  the  Suez  Canal  leads  to  China, 
which  represents  more  than  seven  hundred  millions  of  people,  while 
in  America  you  can  only  count  on  markets  representing  scarcely  one 
hundred  million.  Including  countries  as  far  as  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
gellan, you  will  not  have  the  millions  of  China.  I  believe,  then,  that 
the  figure  of  six  millions  of  tons  wThich  you  have  fixed  upon  as  an 
average  is  exaggerated.  Since  we  ought  to  treat  it  simply  as  a  busi- 
ness affair,  we  should  correct  this  estimate.  We  are  going  to  make  it 
an  affair  of  the  long  future,  as  M.  de  Lesseps  said,  but  I  believe  that 
this  would  be  to  proceed  on  a  very  bad  principle ;  we  are  going  to 
adapt  the  canal  a  niveau,  cost  what  it  may,  even  though  it  should  be 
five  millions,  the  estimate  which  has  been  made  by  a  person  of  great 
authority  in  the  United  States.  I  say  that  we  should  examine  the 
question  from  another  point  of  view ;  we  should  inquire  what  a  canal 
with  locks  might  be,  besides  asking  specialists  how  many  ships  could 
pass  through  these  locks  in  24  hours :  whether  a  sufficient  number 
could  pass  for  the  number  of  tons  which  has  been  just  spoken  of.  I 
am  not  the  advocate  of  any  company  or  any  canal;  I  have  no  reason 
to  adopt  one  system  rather  than  another,  but  I  do  not  wish  that  we 
should  go  out  from  this  body  with  a  negative  vote.  If  we  decide  for 
a  canal  which  would  be  impracticable,  it  would  be  unfortunate.  We 
ought  to  treat  the  question  as  business  men.  It  is  necessary  that  this 
canal  shall  give  large  dividends  to  its  stockholders ;  without  that  we 
shall  have  played  a  singular  part.  I  desire  that  our  honorable 
President  will  tell  me  if  I  have  misunderstood  him  when  he  asked 
the  Technical  Commission  to  decide  for  a  canal  at  any  cost  provided 
it  was  a  niveau. 

M.  DE  LESSEPS. — I  have  said  that  the  Commission  would  pronounce 
for  one  canal  or  another.  We  must  decide.  We  ought  not  to  go  out 
from  this  body  without  making  a  decision. 

M.  SPEINENT. — I  would  remark  to  the  assembly  that  we  were  already 
acquainted  with  the  opinion  of  M.  de  Lesseps.  He  said,  in  the 
Geographical  Congress  of  1875,  that  he  had  always  advocated  the  use 
of  canals  a  niveau  everywhere  where  their  construction  had  been 
shown  to  him  possible.  I  believe  he  thinks  a  canal  a  niveau  would 
be  preferable  via  Panama;  if  that  should  be  impossible  there,  we 
must  go  to  Nicaragua. 


APPENDIX.  101 

M.  DE  LESSEPS. — Why  not  a  fresh-water  canal. 

M.  FONTANE. — I  ask  leave  to  make  a  single  observation  in  reply  to 
M.  Simonin.  He  said  that  he  accepted  the  figure  of  6,000,000  tons 
having  to  pass  through  the  inter-oceanic  canal  as  a  maximum.  I 
wish  simply  to  appeal  to  the  patience  of  M.  Simonin,  and  ask  him  to 
await  the  Report  which  the  President  of  the  Statistical  Commission, 
M.  Levapeur,  will  present  in  a  few  days  to  the  assembly.  He  will 
find  in  this  Report  all  the  elements  necessary  to  form  a  definite 
opinion.  He  added  that  he  accepted  the  figures  of  6,000,000  of  tons 
as  a  very  large  maximum,  because  there  were  but  3,000,000  of  tons 
which  passed  through  the  Suez  Canal.  I  desire  to  recall  to  the 
Congress  that,  at  its  first  meeting,  in  a  Report  which  I  had  the  honor 
to  present,  I  stated  precisely  the  reason  why  the  Suez  Canal  has 
now  a  traffic  of  3,000,000  tons.  It  is  simply  because  steam  naviga- 
tion almost  alone  can  properly  utilize  the  Suez  Canal,  and  the  ship- 
builders cannot  make  enough  steam  vessels  to  carry  on  the  traffic 
which  exists.  I  showed  by  official  figures  that  the  traffic  between  the 
Western  and  Eastern  world  through  the  Suez  Canal  would  reach 
10,000,000  tons ;  consequently  the  figure  of  6,000,000  tons  that  M. 
Simonin  considers  as  a  maximum  for  an  inter-oceanic  canal,  comparing 
it  with  the  3,000,000  tons  of  the  Suez  Canal,  becomes  almost  a  mini- 
mum, compared  with  10,000,000  which  could  pass  through  the  Suez 
Canal. 

A  second  opinion  of  M.  Simonin  bore  upon  the  sum  that  the 
Panama  Canal  might  cost,  a  sum  which  is  reckoned  at  some  milliards ! 
We  would  like  upon  this  point  again  to  appeal  to  the  patience  of  our 
honorable  colleague,  and  ask  him  to  await  the  developments  of  the 
Report  of  the  Technical  Commission,  charged  with  estimating  the 
cost  of  the  canal.  I  have  wished  simply  to  appeal  to  the  patience  of 
M.  Simonin.  It  is  perhaps  asking  too  much. 

M.  SIMONIN. — I  do  not  see  why,  on  two  occasions,  M.  Fontane,  my 
honorable  colleague  and  friend,  has  made  an  appeal  to  my  patience. 
It  seems  to  me  that  I  speak  with  much  calmness,  and  that  I  have 
always  given  proof  of  much  patience  and  tranquillity  ;  consequently, 
M.  Fontane  has  wished  to  be  witty,  but  I  do  not  admit  his  objection. 
As  to  the  figures  that  I  have  made  use  of,  I  would  be  glad  that  he 
shall  he  good  enough  to  demonstrate  to  me  that  they  are  exaggerated. 
We  are  doing  a  work  in  the  interest  of  humanity.  I  will  experience 
great  satisfaction  when  10,000,000  tons  will  have  to  pass  through  the 
canal  we  desire  to  open. 


102  APPENDIX. 

The  figures  that  I  have  cited  have  been  made  by  conscientious 
persons ;  show  me  that  we  are  wrong — I  ask  nothing  better ;  but  it 
was  useless  to  occupy  the  attention  of  so  numerous  and  busy  an 
assemblage  in  making  personal  question. 

M.  DE  LESSEPS. — There  is  nothing  personal  in  that  question  (in 
what  has  been  said) ;  it  has  only  been  the  occasion  for  us  to  learn  the 
opinions  of  those  in  listening  to  whom  we  have  always  great  pleasure. 
M.  Simonin  has  said  that  we  have  ten  francs  since  the  Suez  Canal 
has  been  opened  to  navigation,  and  that  considering  the  number  of 
vessels  which  pass  through  the  canal  we  had  a  return  of  ten  per  cent. 
In  truth,  we  have  already  received  large  returns,  and  we  have  been 
obliged  to  reduce  our  tariffs. 

Through  whatever  route  the  Panama  Canal  will  pass,  it  will 
shorten  the  distance  more  readily  than  the  route  of  the  Suez  does. 
During  the  forty  years  that  I  have  studied  the  question  I  have  always 
understood  that  for  a  profit  it  is  necessary  to  receive  at  the  least  ten 
francs  per  ton ;  we  can  readily  make  the  American  Canal  pay  double 
of  this,  whatever  may  be  the  project  that  is  brought  about.  These 
are  considerations  that  one  is  very  glad  to  know  for  the  future. 
Commander  Selfridge  makes  known  to  the  assembly,  through  the 
interpreter,  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  no  preference 
for  any  project.  Every  one  in  America  is  convinced  of  the  special 
competence  of  the  Congress,  and  whatever  may  be  the  result,  the 
nation  will  accept  with  eagerness  all  the  decisions  which  will  be  taken 
here.  (Applause.) 

M.  LAROUESSE — I  would  ask  permission  of  the  Congress  to  put 
another  question,  in  addition  to  those  of  M.  Ruelle  ;  it  is  to  compare 
the  difference  of  distances  which  the  proposed  canal  would  give,  con- 
sidering the  principal  regions  which  they  would  be  called  upon  to 
benefit.  It  is  certain  that  the  Congress,  in  order  to  make  a  decision, 
shall  have  also  to  estimate  the  time  judged  necessary  to  pass  through 
the  different  canals,  etc.,  all  of  which  I  think  require  some  explanation. 

M.  EIFFEL. — I  desire  that  the  Commission  on  Navigation  will  be 
good  enough  to  give  us  some  explanation  upon  the  inconvenience  of 
locks,  if  the  number  of  them  were  reduced.  In  other  words,  would 
canals  with  locks  present  much  less  inconvenience  with  less  than  half 
the  number  of  locks  than  by  the  [canal  plan]  as  now  presented? 

M.  DE  LESSEPS. — If  no  other  person  wishes  to  speak,  I  will  remind 
the  assembly  that  our  first  general  meeting  will  take  place  Tuesday 
next  at  9  A.  M.,  to  hear  the  reports  of  the  First  and  Fifth  Commis- 
sions, and  that  the  closing  session  is  fixed  for  Thursday. 

The  adjournment  took  place  at  6.45  P.  M. 


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